Experiences and strategies influencing older adults to continue playing walking football

Abstract

Adults aged 55+ are most likely to be inactive, despite research suggesting older adults experience multiple benefits when participating in physical activity and sport. Limited research focuses on long-term continuation of sport participation in this population, especially in 'adapted sports' like walking football. This study explored experiences of walking football maintenance in 55- to 75- year-old players. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 17 older adults maintaining walking football play over six months. Inductive analysis revealed five higher-order themes representing maintenance influences, and two higher-order themes relating to maintenance mechanisms (i.e., the conscious process by which players maintain). Influences when maintaining walking football included individual-level and culture-level influences (e.g. perceived benefits of maintenance and ability acceptance). Maintenance mechanisms included cognitions and behaviours (e.g., scheduling sessions and redefining physical activity expectations). Findings highlight novel implications for policy and practice, which are important to consider when delivering walking football to older adults. Keywords: older adults, football, soccer, behaviour change, maintenance, qualitative methods, interview