By: Richard Zhao

Gary Clark has been playing soccer since the age of 7 and played for 4 decades. However, after two injuries requiring knee surgery at the age of 48, he made the difficult decision to quit the sport.

With players covering almost 7 miles on average each game, soccer takes a heavy toll on players’ knees and ankles. Due to the physical demands of the sport, many people are prevented from playing the sport after sustaining an injury, and older people are often in too poor health to play the game.

A variant of the sport, called walking soccer, emerged in 2011 to allow more people to get back to playing soccer. When it was first created, some people didn’t take it seriously, and many laughed it off as a joke. However, it has recently become a global phenomenon.

Walking soccer shares most of its rules with traditional soccer, although a couple of important differences were added for the sake of safety. First, players are not allowed to run or jog, and one foot must always be on the ground at all times. Second, tackles are also only allowed if there is no contact. And lastly, the ball must remain below head height at all times. To compensate for the reduced movement, the field size is smaller , and there are only six people on each team compared to the usual 11.

With the rising popularity of walking soccer, more players are enjoying the sport. “I have lost weight playing, so I think that’s a good sign,” notes Clark, who played with the Tri-City Walking Soccer Club. Another player, George Corecki, started to play walking soccer after arthritis in his left knee and right hip prevented him from playing regular soccer. “The guys really took to it because they were able to reconnect with their teammates, both on the field and in a social setting after the game,” Gorecki said. “Walking soccer opened a door that would have otherwise stayed closed.”

Walking soccer also has benefits outside of just improving fitness. The closeness of the sport, along with the opportunity to enjoy soccer again inspired many players to help others. Walking soccer players have visited people living with dementia, talked with students, and delivered food to children in need. “Walking football has become an important part of our lives with our training and matches, but we never forget we are a community team,” Shuan Sherrick, the organizer of the Barnet Walking Football Team, said. Many players consider their walking soccer group not just a team, but also a family. The new sport has brought together not just players, but entire communities.