A Halewood man will be leading out England at the International Walking Football World Championships in Italy this week - despite only getting involved in the sport a year and a half ago.
Ian Furlong, 51, has since gone on to achieve big things in the Walking Football world from winning a Golden Boot at a Portuguese tournament in 2021 to sensationally becoming the player-manager of the IWFF England national team.
Ian, who currently plays for Kings Maid in Manchester, has explained how he got involved in the sport despite being reluctant at first.
He said: "I was asked to play a game of football by a friend and I was surprised to hear it was walking football. I was initially hesitant but now I'm hooked. It's a really fast paced sport that's a good way to keep fit and I feel I could play until I'm 70."
Ian, who is ex Armed Forces and now the Managing Director of Independent Pest Control & Hygiene Services in Speke, was adamant he wanted to carry on playing football as he got older. He found Walking Football to be an ideal way to carry on participating in the sport he loved without putting too much strain on his body.
He added: "I live for football and would play five times a week but Walking Football is a great way to continue playing as you get older and it also helps with your mental health."
After impressing for his club, Kings Maid, Ian was offered trials for England. He then travelled down to Lincoln whereupon he was approached for the player- manager position of the IWFF England team.
Ian's stint as player-manager has so far been a great success. Earlier this year, his England side played in the Tri Nations in Sweden where they took on Sweden and Norway and won.
Ian said: "It's truly brilliant. We have players coming from all over and now we now play all over the country. We have England training once a month in Lincoln and I've played in tournaments in Sweden and Portugal and I can't speak highly enough of this great sport."
He will now travel to Florence, Italy with an 18 man squad for the World Championships, which kick off on Thursday July 14, where, in the over 50s, England will take on the hosts Italy, Sweden, France, Australia and Indonesia.
