‘It’s lovely to have that sense of belonging’: older men’s involvement in walking football

ABSTRACT

Men’s participation in group leisure is often promoted as a vehicle for social connection in later-life. However, current research rarely extends beyond underbaked statements about this, thereby neglecting how this is accomplished in the everyday leisure practices of older men. Informed by sociological scholarship which attends to the intersections of leisure, community, and belonging, I draw on 43 interviews with older men playing walking football to sketch out how men forge bonds and belonging on and off the pitch. Participation in a group activity allows older men to reassemble their selves alongside other men in ways that help avoid loneliness/isolation. Moreover, they cherish the ‘camaraderie’, ‘banter’, and friendships shared with other men. The cultivation of meaningful relationships also includes enacting modes of care and interdependence, in which dwelling alongside men provides security and reassurance under the shadow of their own embodied vulnerability. By taking claims of social connection seriously, I interpret men’s involvement in walking football not as an individual pursuit occurring alongside others, but as a collective act and social experience. I conclude by reflecting on the value of this approach for understanding men’s leisure practices, and possible future areas of social inquiry in leisure studies.

KEYWORDS:

• Belonging
• connection
• friendships
• older men
• physical activity
• walking football

Acknowledgements

I would like to thank everyone who participated in my project, all of whom were so enthusiastic, engaged, and generous with their time. I am grateful to the editors of Leisure Studies and the two invited reviewers for offering instructive feedback on earlier versions of this article. Any errors remain my own. Finally, thanks to the British Academy for awarding me a Fellowship which allowed me the space to (re)write this article.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

1. Walking football is reported to be an increasingly popular sport for men and women, with over 1,500 clubs and over 60,000 participants in the UK alone (The Walking Football Association, 2021).

Additional information

Funding

No funding was received for this study.

Notes on contributors

Gareth M. Thomas

Gareth M. Thomas is a Reader in the School of Social Sciences at Cardiff University, UK. He is a sociologist who is interested in disability, health and illness, medicine, and reproduction.