Some Walking Football clubs are paying over £150 an hour for pitch hire

The Costs and Benefits of Walking Football for Scotland

The Scottish Football Union and Walking Football Scotland, with support from Chest Heart and Stroke Scotland and Para-football Scotland, has completed a major research project*, studying the health benefits of this rapidly expanding sport, whilst also drawing attention to the increasing costs involved in hiring pitches across Scotland.  The key results are as follows, with the full survey report available at the link at the foot of this page.

Club Fees: Walking football participants are happy with the club fees they pay themselves, with almost half (48%) paying less than £5 per week in subs/game fees, and a further 41% paying £5-£8 (the second lowest option). Just over 5% are paying more than £10. At a time of serious pressure on household budgets, Walking Football invariably offers good value for money to individuals. 

Pitch Charges: However, almost two-thirds (63%) do not know what it costs to hire a pitch. Although the vast majority of Walking Football clubs pay reasonable rates for pitch hire, some 15% pay between £51 and £100 per hour for pitch. 10 people reported paying between £101 and £150 and three were paying over £151 per hour.  Some 20% pay £50 or less for an hour’s pitch hire.

Health Benefits: When asked to rank the benefits to them of playing Walking Football, the three main reasons were all health related. As the table below shows, physical health was first, followed by Mental Health and social health (getting out of the house). Winning matches was considered least important compared to the health/social benefits.  This, we believe, must have a positive impact on Scotland’s health, reducing the demands on the NHS from an ageing population to some extent.

	Score (out of 8)
Physical Health	7.17
Mental Health and wellbeing	6.08
Social Health (getting you out of the house)	5.15
Being able to play football as I get older	4.53
Meeting people I wouldn’t normally meet	4.45
Being part of a team	3.87
Recovering from illness/injury	3.26
Winning matches	1.49

When asked about other benefits, the social aspects of Walking Football were to the fore, with the most commonly cited word being ‘fun.’

Frequency of playing: The vast majority (92%) play Walking Football at least once a week, with a majority (57%) playing more than once a week. Fewer than 3% play less than once a month. Some 81% play for one hour, 17% for up to two hours and only 2% play for more than two hours. 57% play in a league competition.

Quality of Facilities: 81% rate the availability and facilities for Walking Football in their area as good (38%) or very good (43%). Fewer than 6% rate them as poor or very poor.

Chest Heart and Stroke Scotland provides excellent advice and services to Walking Footballers.  Over three-quarters (76%) of respondents are aware of the relationship between the two organisations.

Suggestions for improvement: 600 people made suggestions to improve the game in Scotland. Advertising/promotion is foremost amongst these, with many suggesting that the NHS promotes Walking Football more. The cost is also mentioned frequently, as is a demand for a national team and also for Cup finals not always to be held in Glasgow.

The SFU’s Lead on Walking Football, Mark Lynch, said,

“This major piece of work has shown that, while the vast majority of those playing Walking Football are happy with the financial costs involved, there are still a few who, in our view, are paying too much. This may well have a detrimental effect on their ability to play the sport, if clubs cannot afford to hire pitches, with the knock-on impact this has on the players’ physical and mental health. The latter is demonstrated to be extremely important for participants in Walking Football, and will, in small, individual ways, contribute to reducing older people’s need to make use of the NHS, helping reduce the latter’s costs and making Scotland’s older population fitter in mind and body.”

For Walking Football Scotland, Trustee Matt Ramsay said,

“We are delighted at the huge response to this survey. It has given us statistically robust data which shows the beneficial health impact of Walking Football for our clubs’ members across the country, as well as making it clear that the vast majority of them are aware of the services available to them from Chest Heart and Stroke Scotland.  While the costs involved in Walking Football are, in a very small number of cases, arguably excessive, for the majority, Walking Football offers a fantastic way to play the sport they have loved all their lives, whilst deriving enormous benefits to their physical, social and mental health.” 

To access the full report,

WALKING FOOTBALL SURVEY REPORT 2025.pdf

Download PDF • 802KB

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*The survey was conducted by Alastair Blair and Abderrahman Rguig of the SFU's Ops team. With c. 5,000 people playing Walking Football in Scotland, the response rate of 1,060, from over 100 clubs from Orkney to the Scottish Borders, is statistically extremely robust and means any conclusions taken from this report can be used with confidence.