East Algarve have become official members of the Walking Football Association of Iberia (WFAI), its president Ronald Waugh has announced. The only other representative so far was Madeira.
“The recruitment of East Algarve is sure to stimulate interest in other clubs along the Algarve,” Ronald said.
WFAI will now be looking to plan for what could be one of Iberia’s biggest ever football tournaments, the Iberian Cup, which will feature every member team in the association.
Meanwhile, the association is also proposing to host a tournament (or tournaments) in October/November in Costa del Sol, Spain.
“With East Algarve’s tournament finishing mid-October, a Costa del Sol tournament would be towards the end of that month. The possibility of another tournament in November will depend on the number of clubs interested. Both these tournaments would be over two days,” Ronald announced.
Another novelty is the new WFAI website (www.wfai.info), which has been running for nearly a month and is proving “very successful with many hits”.
“All member clubs are listed, and the site is updated on an almost daily basis by our Web Administrator Yvette Parker who is doing a superb job in such a short time and with little previous experience,” he said.
Focus is now on the walking football events that lie ahead.
“While East Algarve prepare for their annual prestigious tournament (lost to Covid last year) including some of walking football’s top teams, on the other side of the border final pre-season preparations are taking place for the launch of the Hidromaster South of Spain Walking Football League. There will be two divisions this season with a five-team top league and a B League with five B teams and WFS Calahonda. This League is for the older players who can’t make the first team but want regular competitive football,” said Ronald.
He added that a new league will also commence in October with the Costa Blanca League and the prospect of a second league in this area.
“Without doubt, walking football is on the up as can be proved with the launch of a new club in Torrox (Malaga) and Puerto Santa de Maria (Cadiz). With the addition of Puerto Santa de Maria in the extreme south of Spain, WFAI now has member teams in the North (Bilbao), Central Coast (Alicante), South of Spain (Costa del Sol) and now East Algarve and Madeira representing Portugal,” the WFAI president said.
More news is promised for next month, including information on how to set up a walking football club.
“It’s not as difficult as you think,” said Ronald Waugh.
For further information on anything walking football-related, contact [email protected]
