Walking Football: A Strategy for Promoting Physical Activity Among Older People
A special issue of Sports (ISSN 2075-4663).
Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 April 2025) | Viewed by 2350
Special Issue Editors
Interests: healthy ageing; sports training; assistive technologies; physical activity; physical fitness; physical education
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Interests: football; talent identification and development; small-sided games; physical performance; match analysis; sports injuries
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Interests: pedagogical innovation; interactive technology
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2. Health Institute (ISAMB), Faculty of Medicine, University of Lisbon, 1649-020 Lisbon, Portugal
Interests: physical activity; health education; public health
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
2. Department of Psychology, University of Geneva, 1227 Carouge, Switzerland
Interests: lifespan; vulnerability; reserves; lifelong activity engagement; health
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
The global increase in life expectancy among the older population has attracted significant scientific community interest, with research on the topic aiming to enhance their quality of life and promote active, healthy ageing. Physical activity (PA) is crucial and offers numerous benefits, including reducing chronic diseases, preventing cognitive decline, and fostering social interaction. Despite this, only a small fraction of older adults meet the WHO’s recommended 150 minutes of moderate PA weekly.
To encourage PA, recreational team sports initiatives, such as walking football (WF), have been adapted for older adults. WF modifies football rules to suit individuals with limited physical capabilities, making it a safe and effective strategy for promoting PA among seniors. Participants in WF programs have reported various benefits, including reduced body fat, improved cardiorespiratory fitness, enhanced muscle strength and balance, increased enjoyment, better mental health, and stronger social connections.
However, research on WF-specific parameters still requires improvement, necessitating more rigorous studies to understand and fully optimise its benefits for older adults. Therefore, in this Special Issue, we welcome papers ranging from studies with controlled interventions to evaluate the effectiveness of participation in walking football to studies characterising internal load (physiological parameters and self-perception) and external training loads during the practice.
Dr. Élvio Rúbio Gouveia
Dr. Hugo Miguel Borges Sarmento
Dr. Hélder Manuel Arsénio Lopes
Dr. Adilson Marques
Dr. Andreas Ihle
Guest Editors
Manuscript Submission Information
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Keywords
- healthy ageing
- physical activity
- walking football
- quality of life
- health promotion
- recreational sports
- older adults
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