St Thomas Women’s Walking Football – A Grassroots Community Effort

By Felix Elsen (Community Physical Activity Organiser)

In Autumn 2024, two women at a local community meeting in St Thomas, proposed the idea of women’s walking football. Walking football, a non-contact, accessible version of the popular game, seemed like a great way to engage women of all ages and abilities. Wellbeing Exeter’s Community Physical Activity Organiser (CPAO), who was part of the meeting, saw the potential in this and decided to help them take the idea further.

In collaboration with the two women, the word was spread through community groups, social media and the local Community Builder. The response was overwhelmingly positive, with women from across the city expressing an interest and many of them joining a dedicated WhatsApp chat. The WhatsApp group became one of the main communication and planning tools for the new project.

The CPAO secured initial funding from Live & Move, with the Exeter City Community Trust offering balls and bibs to help get things started. A few weeks down the line, the Riverside Leisure Centre’s 5-a-side indoor pitch was booked, with the first session launching in early in November 2024, less than two months after the idea was born. The sessions were deliberately kept free of charge to enable as many women as possible to participate, with a couple of walking football coaches volunteering their time to help with the first few sessions.

Since then, the group has been coming together every Monday evening to play friendly games, enjoying the benefits of gentle exercise and social connection. Along the way they have been supported with funding from the Walking Football Association as well as ward grants from Exeter City Council. Over the course of the past 12 months, some of the players have completed a Football Association training course to help facilitate the sessions. New players have joined, and the sessions are characterised by an inclusive and “friendly atmosphere”, described as “welcoming and accessible” by one of the group members.

Some of the participants include people who have never played football before and those with long-term health conditions or disabilities, who would otherwise often be excluded from playing football.

With women of all ages and abilities taking part, the sessions have been described as a “non-judgemental” space to socialise and play in a mutually supportive and non-competitive environment. One group member took the initiative to become the group’s coordinator, overseeing social media, managing venue hire and acting as the first point of contact for new people.

The group recently celebrated their first anniversary with a special session together with other female players from another local walking football club. The St Thomas Women’s Walking Football group serves as a good example of how, with the right support, a simple idea can generate the momentum required to create new opportunities and nurturing spaces within local neighbourhoods. The women involved are keen to continue playing together and are currently working towards growing in numbers and making the sessions financially sustainable. They encourage others to come and join them.