A reminder that the International Walking Football Federation (IWFF) World Championships take place at the SMH Group Stadium from Friday to Sunday. In the build-up to the tournament, IWFF Global president Alan Rose answered a series of questions…
What are your thoughts as you look forward to welcoming teams from the different countries to the SMH Group Stadium?
I know a lot of the nations that are coming. We’ve built up a good relationship over the last few years, more so since lockdown. And I think they’re all thrilled to bits to be coming to Chesterfield, especially with John (Croot) being there. John Croot really set the ball rolling with all of this. Once we’re there, sharing everything together, we’re just one big happy family, really.
What’s your background with walking football?
I was working for a mental health trust in Birmingham in clinical governance, dealing with clinical and non-clinical risks. But I’ve always been actively involved with the FA as a football referee. I’m not as active as I used to be. And when I retired from work, because of my refereeing background, I ended up playing walking football at the local sports centre in Scarborough. With the tournaments, it soon got out that I was available to referee and it progressed from there. I worked with Paul Carr at the WFA and then I provided the referees for some of the walking football tournaments and delivered referee training for the walking football organisations, both home and abroad. And in 2021 I was asked by the board of the IWFF if I would register the company with Companies House as a non-profit organisation because they felt it was best suited being in the UK. I still provide referees all over Europe for walking football tournaments. I’ve done three tournaments out in Portugal so far this year, so I don’t usually get time to go down and play at my local club. I’m always too busy doing these things. And it’s trying to plan and prepare for the next tournaments to keep everybody happy.
How big a task has it been to organise this tournament?
Well, getting the teams registered was fairly easy. The difficult part is when you bring in 15 nations, with 54 football teams – 12 people per team plus the supporters and the families. It’s been a nightmare logistically for the hotels and transport. But, thanks to and Keith (Jackson) and John (Croot) and the staff there, we’ve managed to fit everybody in. So that’s been the challenge. The tournament will run itself once everybody gets here. Unfortunately, the guys from France have to leave early on Sunday, so we’ve had to rejig the fixtures a little bit. That will disrupt the main presentation, should they win. We’ll just have to have a little presentation for them. They put on a lovely show for us down in Marseille last year.
What level of competition do you think we can expect to see during the three days?
Well, I think it’s like any competition. They lose all sight of things at times. They don’t keep their football head on, they just become too tied up in the tournament and winning rather than enjoying the game and playing good football. And they’re all good footballers, some ex-professionals from some other nations. They’re all good footballers but they play better football if they play a bit slower. The pass accuracy because they’ve got the skills. With the greatest respect to some of the clubs throughout the UK, what lets them down is the ball skills and the passing accuracy and because of the passing accuracy, or inaccuracy, that encourages the players to start to run on to the ball and then you lose the thread of the game really.
What would you say England’s chances are of being successful?
I think we’ve got some good teams now. Some of these players have been with us for a while. We’ve played these people several times so far and out of the different age categories that we’ve got, the men’s 60s, the men’s 65s, the men’s 50s have just got a new team together. So I think they’ll do really well. Sweden are the dark horses because they play fast and furious and the thing with Sweden, one of the assets I suppose, is that they won’t stay on the pitch for more than four minutes. Then they’ll substitute because we’ve got squads of 12, so they can afford to keep swapping people over, keep that momentum and keep the players fresh. So there’s going to be some good games.
What would your message be to anybody thinking of perhaps coming along?
I think come down and have a chat to us. It’s not always about the game, it’s about the enjoyment, it’s about the friendship. You’ll see everybody laughing and joking with each other regardless of which nation they’re from. Get hold of some of the players and have a chat to them and they’ll tell you how much it’s changed their lives, from having illnesses and being housebound to making the effort and getting out there. It’s wonderful. For me, coming from a mental health background where I work, it’s an ideal scenario for them.
The cost of attending the tournament is £10 for a Day Pass or £25 for a Weekend Ticket, allowing access on all three days. Book via the following link: https://bookwhen.com/cfcct/e/ev-s057-20240517143000
*Photo shows the Senior Spireites in a warm-up match against the Walkeroos from Australia at Queen’s Park ahead of the tournament.
