In February 2015, Niyah Campbell was studying for a master’s degree in health psychology at Aston University in Birmingham. His supervisor suggested that, for his research project, he might like to carry out a study into whether walking football – which plays the game at a slower pace – made sport accessible for older adults. He was intrigued. Campbell coached football as a teenager, still plays up to three times a week in a local league, and is a Birmingham City supporter.
Campbell recruited 20 adults for the study, all aged 60 or above, and arranged for weekly sessions on Thursday evenings at a five-a-side-pitch on the university campus. “I was quite intrigued,” Campbell says. “Heading down there for the first session, I didn’t know what to expect.” For the first couple of sessions, the players found it a challenge not to run for the ball. “It feels unnatural,” Campbell says, “to see the ball go past and not run after it. But if you run, it’s a foul. So at first there was a lot of blowing the whistle.”
