The quaint, peaceful village of Casével, 10 minutes from Castro Verde, hosted its first ‘Walking Football’ game on its rarely used hard core football ground.
The afternoon of Saturday 15th January wakened the sleepy villagers to a new experience. Not so peaceful anymore as the cheers and clapping from the supporters and shouts from team players filled the crisp air and blue sky.
Two teams of 5-a-side and mixed ages ranging from 11 to 63 (the over 50s were shy to come forward) were captained by petite but dynamite Mariana age 13 (purple vests) and Francisco age 17 (blue vests), a ‘Ronaldo’ lookalike and with a skill set to match. The referee was Rafaela, training under the careful eye of Mike Hawe (AKA Herpes), one of our players from Olhao East Algarve Walking Football Team.
Four games of 10 minutes each way were played to mounting crowds of onlookers, along with a mounting score for the Blue team. The first of 7 goals for the Blues was made by Francisco and one clear strike by Luigi. At the end of the third game the Purples seemed to be gaining momentum with a score of 3 to the Blues 6; however, Francisco managed another powerful kick into the net to finish victors 7 -3.
The new experience of Walking Football in Casével will be repeated without any doubt as players and supporters all had a great afternoon. Word will spread and the next event will attract more players and spectators alike.
A big Thank You to the support from East Algarve Walking Football Club for the grateful loan of the players’ vests.