Walking-football: an adapted sport for the elderly : A qualitative study on its significance and perceived effects

In 2018, the initiative walking-football was introduced in various associations in Sweden, which is an adapted activity for the elderly. This to try to get more elderly people to want to participate in sports and to become more physically active throughout their lives. The purpose of the study was to elucidate and increase the knowledge of the importance of walking-football for people who are 65 years or older. This study would also highlight the effects the activity can contribute, as well as similarities and differences in women's and men's stories about the activity. Furthermore, the study aimed to investigate whether this activity can contribute to a lifelong sport participation. This study is based on a semi-structured method of interviewing and data collection, where three ladies and three gentlemen will answer questions that include how they experience their participation, what is meaningful about the activity and what possible effects the activity can have. The results of the interviews indicate that togetherness, joy and meeting new people are important for everyone who participated in the study regardless of gender. It turned out that the biggest difference between the gender was that most ladies felt that their physical ability was affected by the fact that they started playing walking-football, while the most men believe that even before they started, they had good physical basis. It was also found that the participants' health was affected in various ways, among other things by increased fitness, better balanceand mobility, and that they got to know new people and were able to create meaningful relationships.All participants in the study also say that no one wants to stop playing and that they intend to play aslong as it is physically possible. One conclusion of this study was that walking-football can contribute to lifelong participation among the elderly