Story added: 23rd June 2015
Norwich City were represented at a regional Walking Football tournament last Friday, by a team of fourteen over-55s from Norfolk.
Recruited from UEA & Erpingham Village walking football groups as well as CSF’s Extra Time programme, they joined participants from nine other clubs in Luton for the Football League Trust organised tournament.
A slow-paced version of the sport, walking football is designed specifically for the over-50s and has seen a big boost in its national profile recently.
The tournament, launched last week by England football legend Jimmy Armfield, sees representative teams from sixty Football League clubs play in regional tournaments across the country, with ten teams qualifying for the national finals to be held at the FA’s St George’s Park complex in July.
Norwich City were drawn in the South-East section along with AFC Wimbledon, Colchester United, Leyton Orient, Charlton Athletic, MK Dons, Reading, Southend United, Stevenage and hosts Luton Town
The Norwich B team started slowly in their first two matches, losing to Northampton Town and Stevenage. However, a win in their last group stage match was enough to put them through, before eventually going out to AFC Wimbledon.
The Canaries A team enjoyed a perfect start to the tournament, winning every game of the group stages. The team confidently dispatched Luton Town 3-1 in the semi-finals, but, as with the B team, they ultimately met their match against the strong AFC Wimbledon outfit in the final.
However, as the beaten finalists, the team will get to enjoy a trip to St. George’s Park for the national finals on the 6th of July.
CSF’s Health Officer Tessa Beecroft, who accompanied the teams to the tournament said:
“The guys loved the chance to represent Norwich City Football Club and they did the club proud.”
“Walking Football is a great way to keep active and rekindle some of those long-lost football skills! I’m looking forward to the National Finals!”
Erpingham Village walking football secretary Ann Goreham said:
“Friday was memorable, and a very proud day in so many ways: the opportunity to represent Norwich City on the football field at whatever level means a great deal…There are still a lot of smiling faces around here!”
Squads
Norwich City A: Alex Squires, Alan Gee, Gary Reeves, Dave Southern, Mick Lyon, Graham Fuller, Jon Elia
Norwich City B: Paul Carr, Kevin Gaffney, Bill Goreham, Graham Gladden, John Hardiment, Pete Brown, Paul Neale
Results
Group stages
Norwich City A 4-2 Luton Town A
Norwich City B 0-2 Stevenage B
Norwich City A 1-0 AFC Wimbledon
Norwich City B 0-3 Northampton Town
Norwich City A 3-1 Luton Town B
Norwich City B 0-0 Luton Town C
Norwich City A 4-0 Stevenage A
Norwich City B 0-0 Stevenage B
Norwich City B 0-0 Luton Town C
Norwich City B 1-0 Northampton Town
Knockouts
QF: Norwich City A 3-0 Luton Town C
QF: Norwich City B 0-3 AFC Wimbledon
SF: Norwich City A 3-1 Luton Town A
F: Norwich City A 0-3 AFC Wimbledon
"The guys loved the chance to represent Norwich City Football Club and they did the club proud."
Tessa Beecroft
CSF Health Development Manager
17th April 2025
Last Friday was all go at The Nest, as six representative CCO teams took to the pitches for the Premier League Kicks Cup.
19th March 2025
The Community Sports Foundation is delighted to announce that Chaplin Farrant have officially come on board as a Foundation partner, sponsoring Norwich City’s Cerebral Palsy Football Team
11th March 2025
For International Women's Day 2025 we hosted a special event at The Nest for girls from local schools.
7th February 2025
The Foundation's Girls' Football & Education team will host the NFYL League Cup semi-final at The Nest on Wednesday, 12th of February as they look to build on a successful season.
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