Around the Counties: Walking in Nottinghamshire (Nottinghamshire FA)

Nottinghamshire FA used the momentum of England’s World Cup run to launch a women’s-only walking football programme, and She Kicks gives it a page. Walk This Way was piloted with five groups across Nottingham, Mansfield, Newark and Sherwood, Bassetlaw and Broxtowe, each receiving a starter fund, an equipment bag of balls and bibs, and an incentive scheme aimed at recruiting and keeping participants. The programme is open to anyone aged sixteen and over, whatever their experience. Michelle Marshall, the county’s Women and Girls Officer, frames it as capitalising on the buzz created by France 2019. The first session ran in Bassetlaw in July, organised by Tony Wright and delivered by Colin Gwilym, and drew nine players. The county already runs more than 130 female teams.