Harrogate Strays Walking Football Club

Update on IWFF World Championships 2025 - Malmo, Sweden

England Women Over 60s - World Champions!

Debbie is pictured 4th right in the photo

England Women's Over 60s took the world title after beating Norway 2-1 in the final, with our own Debbie Naylor playing a full part in the victory! Debbie is pictured 4th right.

Click on the photo for a link to the tournament results

A message from our world champion!

I just wanted to say a big thank you to everyone at Harrogate Strays for helping to make my dreams come true with England in Malmo last weekend. To Jo for introducing me to walking football and to Strays club. To Bernie, Rod and Tom for encouraging me, selecting me for the 60’s, and giving me the confidence to strive for more.To the entire 60s squad for making me feel so welcome and an integral part of the team. To Steven Fort for recommending me to the IWFF, without which I would never have had that chance to compete for a place. And of course, to EVERYONE at the club for being so friendly and inclusive, and making training so much fun. Never in my wildest dreams did I think I could play for my country, let alone win a world championship at 65 years old. It couldn't have happened without your support and encouragement.

Thank you, Harrogate Strays.

Debbie x

The Club Management Committee congratulated Debbie on behalf of the club:

The entire club is extremely proud to see you achieve this recent success at national level. This is a credit to your personal desire to improve and to challenge yourself. We're delighted that this resulted in the opportunity for you to conquer the world!

Bernie, Rod and Tom

England Men Over 75s - Runners Up!

England Women Over 60s - World Champions!

It wasn't to be for England Over 75s, who reached the final only to be beaten on penalties by Norway (again!). But we're super proud of Steven Fort for continuing to represent our club and our country, with distinction! Steven is pictured centre front.

Click on the photo for a link to the tournament results

Two Strays players to represent England

Congratulations Debbie and Steven!

Strays' players Debbie Naylor (pictured) and Steven Fort, will be in Malmo, Sweden for the International Walking Football Federation World Championships to be held from 4th-6th July 2025.

Debbie is playing for the Over 60s Women, and Steven for the Over 75s Men.

Steven has already tasted success in the inaugural competition held last year (see previous article) while Debbie is making her debut.

We wish both them every success!

Over 70s in Northern & Western Counties League Tournament

Hessle, Tuesday 15th July

Harrogate Strays are taking our over 70s competitive players to a 16 team tournament constituted from the Northern and Western Counties League, in the hope that the squad can retain the cup from last years success at the same event.

Along with the squad, the Strays will be represented at an Over 75s Select game by fielding our very own England Stalwarts, Lawrie Coutthard and Colin Stringfellow.

The Strays will also be fielding our most recently qualified referee, Richard Abbot, in support of the competition, and we hope he is selected to be involved in the final in some capacity, which would be an honour for Richard, and an example as to how far he has progressed as an official.

The draw from the teams entered is eagerly anticipated. those teams are:

EAST:

Grimsby Corinthians, Scarborough Barons, Hornsea Town, Cottingham Rangers, Hull Mixed A, Hessle Sporting, Ruston, Area Make Up A, Area Make Up B

WEST:

Bradford City, Doncaster Dynamos, Harrogate Strays, Leeds Titans, Leggy Mambos, Wakefield A, Wakefield B

REFEREES:

Lead Referee. Mick Hill
East - Tony Mulloy, Steve Allen, Mark Leighton, Bob Williamson, Steve Mills
West - Mark Peacock, Dave Holbrook, Chris Akers, Richard Abbot, Mick Lowley

CHARITIES:

Four charities will benefit, including Strays sponsor "CandleLighters" and a Just Giving Page will be announced in due course.

AFTER MATCH ENTERTAINMENT

Open Mic session
A yukulele band, featuring one of our referees, Tony Mulloy
A young lady, daughter of a Leeds Titans player, singing Irish ballards
A raffle with prizes donated by each team
Irish Bingo

Strays Receive a Walking Football Masterclass!

15th May 2025 - Presentation from Stuart Langworthy BEM

Following a request to the Walking Football Association, the Strays Over 60s, Over 65s and Over 70s managers were presented with a 90-minute walking football masterclass from the WFA Over 60s Team Manager, Stuart Langworthy, and what an eye opener it turned out to be!

The presentation was informative and clear; the slides were presented along with the history of the WFA. The explanation of the walking football ethos, mindset and approach was excellent, the aim being to assist the Strays managers in their quest to move the club forward through the provision of training and tactical lessons from the highest level of walking football in England.

The Strays Management Committee and its management team wish to thank Stuart for providing both the material and his time. The input from the WFA and especially Stuart was very much appreciated. The presentation and explanations provided us with a much better insight in how to move our training sessions forward for the benefit of all our players.

Derek Rowe

Over 70’s Team Manager

Our latest Club Day - Sunday 27th April

The JW (Just Walking) Memorial Trophy

Having organised a testimonial tournament last year on behalf of a deceased former player, John Wilcock, we were delighted to contribute, at John's family's behest, £600 to St. Gemma's Hospice.

Even more so because that sum was doubled, thanks to a programme operated at the time by corporate sponsors! Since then our club has sadly witnessed the loss of another former member, as well as the enforced retirement of some players through serious illness and/or debilitating injury.

A decision was therefore taken to honour all members who can no longer participate in walking football, for whatever reason, by holding an annual charity tournament, henceforth to be known as the JW (Just Walking) Memorial Cup, with St. Gemma's to remain the chosen beneficiary of all proceeds.

This year's event took place at Rossett Sports Centre, and featured an enjoyable round robin tournament played out in glorious conditions. Players heeded the nature of the competition by playing in a suitable spirit of fair play, and the matches were well contested throughout. Eventually a winning team emerged to clinch the Roadrunner Trophy donated by and presented by John's son, Ted.

When the very generous donations made by club members were calculated, we were extremely pleased to discover that we had collected a magnificent £1,150, a total almost twice as much as last year (and almost matching the total achieved when doubled by the sponsor). A superb effort for a superb cause - well done all!

Bernie O'Brien

Chairman.

Debbie plays for WFA North Women

Strays player Debbie Naylor recently represented the WFA North Women's team, Here's her report...

The WFA North Women’s Regional squad trains at Bolton Arena and competes in the WFA Women’s Super League against four other regional teams at 40/50/60 age groups. Matches are played three times a season, at Oxstalls Sports Park in Gloucester (a very good facility, but a very long drive!). After training recently with the squad, I was selected to play in the final round of games of the 2024/25 season. At this point, reigning champions North stood second in the table, three points behind South East. The task was simple; we had to beat South East and match their results in the other games to retain the title thanks to a far superior goal difference.

The long journey proved worthwhile, and a 2-0 victory in the key match coupled with a win and two draws against the other regions meant we were duly declared Super League Champions for the second season in a row. My new teammates and Manager Steve Glover made me feel instantly welcome and I played a part in all four games, even managing to score one of our goals. The whole tournament was played in a great spirit, with the most notable difference from the men’s game being that absolutely NO physical contact was tolerated by the referees. England 60’s Manager Heather Kirkland was present, and I learned that several of the North team already have caps, so something to aim for there! It was a thoroughly enjoyable day and an honour to be able to fly the flag for Harrogate Strays in a regional competition.

Debbie

16th March 2025

Debbie is pictured on the left of the front row with her successful squad members

Club Day - 23rd February 2025

A great day's football and a buffet at the Empress to finish!

On a blustery day at Rossett, the rain that had been predicted never really arrived to dampen the spirits on Harrogate Strays' latest club day. A 5-team tournament unfolded with some lively walking football, proved to be very evenly contested and witnessed fluctuating fortunes.

In the first two rounds, the Yellows were anything but mellow, surging to two 1-0 victories to set the early pace at the top of the table and looking like the team to beat. That proved misleading, as the Yellows subsequently lost their next two matches to end up on 6 points. The Reds did the reverse, opening up with two narrow defeats before turning the tables with two wins in their final games to also complete their fixtures with 6 points. Would that same pattern repeat with the Blues, who, albeit courtesy of a couple of deflected goals, won their first two games only to fall foul of the resurgent Greys in game three? At the same time as the Greys were notching their second victory, on the adjoining pitch any suggestion of a collapse was put to bed as the Blues comfortably beat the Greens by three goals to top the table on 9 points.

In the final analysis the Blues had three wins out of four, while the Reds, Greys and Yellows all won two and lost two. Had the Greens beaten the Blues in that final game, all five teams would have ended with 6 points, but defeat left the Greens at the bottom of the pile on 3 points. But the most satisfying thing was that everyone enjoyed the football and played in the right spirit.

Thanks to Phil Solity for refereeing throughout on Pitch 1 and to the various referees who officiated on Pitch 2. And finally thanks to our media maestro Paul Rogers for attending and recording events. For more photos, click on the image above or go to our 2025 Gallery.

Bernie, Rod and Tom

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Strays latest social raises more money for our charity!

Club social on Sunday October 27th 2024

Another successful social event for the club followed our normal pattern, of an intra-club tournament at Rossett Sports Centre, followed by a buffet and drinks at our local, the Shepherds Dog, all in aid of our nominated charity, Leeds-based Candlelighters, who support families facing children's cancer in Yorkshire.

Five teams took part in the walking football games, and the Green team came out on top, taking ten points from their four games and pipping the Blues, who won two and drew two. The luckless Greys took the wooden spoon with no points and no goals, but a good time was had by all, and the games were played in a good spirit!

Players and members were asked to make a minimum £10 donation to our charity, and the total raised, including an anonymous donation of £590, totalled £1180. On top of this, members donated raffle prizes and the raffle raised a further £325, meaning that Candlelighters will benefit to the tune of £1,505; a fantastic amount and a great team effort from all at Strays! Since the club was founded (in October 2023), we have raised £1776 for this worthy charity.

Thanks to everyone who contributed towards the success of this event, whether by donating, providing raffle prizes; putting on a fabulous buffet (thanks to our friends at the Shepherds Dog) and to referees and persistent raffle ticket sellers!

Rod Clifton

Secretary

Harrogate Strays Over 70s into WFLA National Finals!

Over 70s qualify for WFLA National Cup Finals Day!

We’re through! After an anxious wait to discover the results of the Midlands Group games (with only the best placed runner up from both groups qualifying), we now have confirmation that Harrogate Strays Over 70s will join Leggy Mambos from the North Group in the National Finals of the Walking Football Leagues Alliance (WFLA) National Cup. The finals are to be played over 7th-8thSeptember at the Valley Stadium in Redditch. Well done Derek and squad for this fabulous achievement, in what is our first season of competition!