Fife Wanderers veterans celebrate Walking Football Scotland Over-70 League title win

The triumphant Fife Wanderers squad including Bill McConnell (back, 1st left) with ex-Scotland boss Craig LeveinThe triumphant Fife Wanderers squad including Bill McConnell (back, 1st left) with ex-Scotland boss Craig Levein
The triumphant Fife Wanderers squad including Bill McConnell (back, 1st left) with ex-Scotland boss Craig Levein
After a 16-game season at the Oriam in Edinburgh on some Fridays between March and November, Fife Wanderers were crowned champions of the Walking Football Scotland Over-70 League.

Wanderers’ oldest player Bill McConnell, 78, of Kirkcaldy, starred in the 15-minute, six-a-side matches on 40m by 30m pitches for Wanderers – managed by Peter Martin from Glenrothes – alongside team-mates including John Gartshore from Kirkcaldy; top scorer Jack Gorman of Glenrothes and Bob Robertson from Largo. And they lost only three matches in the nine-team league, pipping runners-up Stenhousemuir by a single point.

The Wanderers players then received the impressive league trophy from ex-Hearts and Scotland player and manager Craig Levein.

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"Craig lives in Fife,” retired building surveyor McConnell, a former Stanley and Perth Celtic Juniors player, told the Fife Free Press. “So he said he was delighted that a Fife team had won it.

"It means a lot to us because we play two or three times every week and there’s always anticipation for every session, so as a bunch of friends we were very happy.

“I really enjoy the camaraderie of the walking football and going for a coffee afterwards. It keeps us old guys ticking over and gets the heart pumping.

"It’s good cardiovascular exercise, it’s good fun and you’re meeting people who enjoy the same things.

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"The game is restricted to three touches and keeping the ball at bar height, with kick-ins.

"I’ve played the walking football since it started in 2016 and three years later Fife Wanderers won the over-65 Scottish Cup.

"We are now really looking forward to our Christmas party at Betty Nicols’ pub in Kirkcaldy on December 17.”

The league win for Wanderers – who also play and train at the Michael Woods Sports and Leisure Centre; Bayview and Stark’s Park - qualified them for a ‘Champions League’ tournament between the top three sides from both the east and west of Scotland, which is being played at Ravenscraig Regional Sports Facility in Motherwell this Wednesday, December 4.

McConnell finished by saying that anyone who wishes to find out more about getting involved in walking football should visit the Walking Football Scotland website.

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