CARIBBEAN WELL REPRESENTED AT THE FIWFA 2023 WALKING FOOTBALL WORLD NATIONS CUP
The Federation of International Walking Football Associations (FIWFA) will be staging their inaugural Walking Football World Nations Cup, August 24 – 26 in Derby at St George’s Park, the FA’s national training centre in Staffordshire, England.
At short notice, the Caribbean have entered 2 teams, one in the over 50’s and the other in the over 60’s categories.
The tournament will have sixteen countries competing in the over 50 category and twelve countries in the over 60’s. The Caribbean will be entering a team in each category of the 6-a-side tournament and due to the short notice have had to select their team from first generation players in the Caribbean diaspora that reside predominantly in the United Kingdom. The twenty-four players chosen—12 each squad—have roots from a good spread of the English-speaking Caribbean. It is the ‘Walking Football Caribbean’s’ intention to use this competition as a platform to fully promote the participation of this sport throughout the Caribbean in what has become a global phenomenon since walking footballs inception in the United Kingdom, approximately a decade ago.
In the over 60 category the Caribbean team will be playing in Group B against Northern Ireland, Italy, Australia, Wales, and the Czech Republic. Group A will be competing against hosts England, France, Basque Country, South Korea, Japan, and Canada.
In the Over 50 category the Caribbean team will play in Group B alongside Italy, Basque Country, Nigeria, Singapore, Jersey, Georgia, and Japan. Meanwhile, Group A will be competing against England, Rwanda, Czech Republic, Egypt, Spain, Saudi Arabia, Wales, and Australia.
The challenge ahead may on paper seem daunting for our region. However, we can take our lead from the great West Indies cricket teams of the past and unbelievably, we do have an enviable track record that means we have to be taken very seriously. The club team ‘Pele’s Pearls’ a Caribbean Walking Football Club from the Midlands, UK represented England in a previous world championship and won. Several of these players are in both squads. So, we go into the competition with high expectations and certainly not as underdogs.
Walking Football Caribbean would like to acknowledge a heartfelt thank you to our sponsor Theo Burnett, Golden Krust franchise holder and Foundation Member (Atlanta) and our collaborating partner and aligned charity, the Jason Roberts Foundation who share our vision to see the game played wherever there are people of Caribbean origin for the health benefits that can experienced.
To follow our teams progress in the competition and to find out more about ‘Walking Football Caribbean’ please visit www.walkingfootballcaribbean.org we look forward to you dropping by.
To watch live coverage of the tournament:
The Recast FIWFA channel, the home of International Walking Football,
can be found at: http://recast.tv/FIWFA
CARRIBEAN WORLD CUP FIXTURES official schedule below.
50’s FIXTURES
Thursday, 24th Aug, 11:30AM – versus Jersey
Thursday, 24th Aug, 16:30PM – versus Nigeria
Thursday, 24th Aug, 17:20PM – versus Basque Country (Spain)
Friday, 25th Aug, 08:30AM – versus Singapore
Friday, 25th Aug, 14:20PM – versus Japan
Friday, 25th Aug, 16:00PM – versus Italy
60’s FIXTURES
Thursday, 24th Aug, 09:00AM – versus Italy
Thursday, 24th Aug, 14:00PM – versus Australia
Thursday, 24th Aug, 15:40PM – versus Czech Republic
Friday, 25th Aug, 15:10PM – versus Northern Ireland
Friday, 25th Aug, 16:50PM – versus Wales
Stay active, stay healthy.
