Walking football team win top European competition

Melksham Walking Football Club won the seventh Almelo City Cup in the Netherlands, beating Calne and 22 other teams from across Europe. 

The tournament was held the Heracles Stadium, home to Heracles Almelo who play in the Dutch top flight, the Eredivisie, the equivalent of the English Premier League.

Melksham Walking Football Club chairman Russell Hillier said, “The expectation from those of us that attended previously and the new members was to enjoy the atmosphere, camaraderie, banter and a little football too; it was not at all with a focus on winning.

“We stayed at the local Preston Palace Hotel which is a 10-minute trip from the Heracles Football Stadium (which seats approx 15,000) where the event was played. The hotel is an amazing all-inclusive resort that really has to be experienced to be believed. You get to meet other teams from different part of Europe and it’s a fantastic social event.”

On day one, following an extensive opening ceremony, the first group rounds were played and Melksham topped Pool D.

The results were: Billericay 0-1 Melksham; Walking Bears 2-3 Melksham; Werder Bremen 0-7 Melksham.

Calne playing in Group F qualified and joined Melksham for the following group round on day two.

“After an initial slow start on day two, possibly due to a little alcohol the previous evening, we topped the group again qualifying for the semi-finals,” said Russell.

The results were: Melksham 1-1 Raspo Osnabruck; Melksham 0-0 Calne (proper derby); Melksham FC 4-0 Utrecht; Semi Finals: Melksham FC 1-0 Rosomak Lodz; Calne 0-3 Cleethorpes Walkers. Final: Melksham 1-0 Cleethorpes.

“We are so pleased to have won, the trophy was too big for us to take home in our suitcases, so this was delivered to us instead in time of our league meeting,” added Russell.

The winning team were: Russell Hillier, Andrew Butcher, Neil Crook, Ollie Stagg, Mark Potts, Rory Heatley and Sean Heatley.