Walking Football

“If a church wants to reach out to its community, it needs to open the doors and put the kettle on.”

This is how Keith McIntosh approaches sharing faith in 2026. His philosophy has remained unchanged for over 60 years since he began following Jesus. That is one reason why he started a Walking Football group at St. Andrew’s Leyland about ten years ago. As a man in the second half of life, he saw others around him who didn’t get out of their house much, were widowed or in other situations that meant they needed something that got them out of bed in the morning.

Walking football has a simple premise. Get a few older folks together and play the ‘beautiful game’. But obviously you can’t run! The Football Association took on the organisation of Walking Football, and there are championships and leagues around the country (and the world!). However, outside of that system, the purpose of walking football differs from other FA offerings - it is primarily about getting people to socialise and meet community needs through the activity. Isolation, depression, recovery from injury or heart operations. All sorts of needs can be met through an hour-long session once a week. As such, it is perfectly set up for churches to start in their community.

Ambassadors Football’s mission is to help churches disciple people through football. They do this through three pillars: investing in churches, investing in people and sharing Jesus through football. So, they come alongside churches that want to reach out to their older communities and help them set up walking football. One example is Revive Church in Oldham. A few retirees wanted to stay fit and so organised sessions every Tuesday at Saddleworth Leisure Centre. Up to 20 turn up regularly and then head down to the Reclamation room cafe, where they have a reserved table for tea and toast and a chat afterwards. Recently, Fred Buxton (74) was commissioned as chaplain to the group at a Sunday service. Some players turned up who hadn’t been in church for years to support Fred.

No tackling is allowed in walking football. People come ready to increase their heart rate a little, and wherever you do it, you have time out at the side of the pitch when conversations take place. St. Andrew’s has hosted Christians in Sport quizzes for people to come along to. Revive Church have a Christmas curry for the players and their spouses. Over 40 came along in 2025.

Martin Bateman, CEO of Ambassadors Football observes,

“I have noticed as I interact with the organisers of these activities, they have had jobs in every sector of the workplace and in some cases high-level roles requiring skills and expertise. These skills are being used to organise walking football sessions, social events and more. It keeps them energised and living with a purpose. Not only sorting out a weekly football activity but also sharing in very practical ways their faith in Jesus."

Ambassadors Football offer a range of ways your church and community can run football outreach to connect with people and share the love of Jesus with them. From kids’ camps, adult tournaments, overseas tours and regular football outreach, we believe we have a responsibility to connect with those who love football and introduce them to Jesus through it. If you or your church would like to know more about hosting walking football or any of the other programmes we offer, please head to our website atgb.ambassadorsfootball.org. We would love to begin the journey to seeing you share your faith through football.

Our thanks go to Dyland Wert from Ambassadors Football, for writing this article for Global Connections.