WALKING FOOTBALL

Walking football is a sport newly introduced to Malaysia in 2017 by Dr. Haireen Abdul Hadi with the help of UMCares. The sport is adapted from a foobtball club in the United Kingdom that had the sport as a means to help senior citizens carry out physical activities.

Dr. Haireen adapted the same concepts and introduced them to primary school children who were overweight. The program began with a few schools in 2017, and more schools were added in the subsequent years due to the success of the program. Sports participation is a great way for youth to be more physically active, improve health, and have fun. Currently, every school student in Malaysia need to be involved in at least one sport or game at school. This requirements may be an issue for the students with weight problems or obese since they will have difficulty finding suitable sports or games for them. Therefore, Walking Football is an appropriate sport for these group of students so that they will be able to involve in sports, stay active and obtain their ideal weight. This one of its kind program is supervised by Dr Haireen Abdul Hadi from Faculty of Medicine UM and has adopted the Walking Football rules which originally designed in Great Britain for the elderly aged over 50 to improve their mobility. Based on her findings, Dr Haireen believed this program will not only able to address the obesity problems in a holistic manner, but also help the students to improve their focus, intelligence and relationships with family and friends.

On 29 November 2019, a MOA (Memorandum of Agreement) between UM and Walking Football Association, United Kingdom was held at UM Art Gallery, Chancellery Building. The objective of theMoA is to assist Malaysians, especially children, to practice healthy living practices to Malaysian society, produce a knowledgeable group of “Walking Football” game referees, become the first Walking Football organization in Malaysia, provide training and court services to staff or individuals who are interested and and establish Walking Football Clubs in schools under the Ministry of Education that are autonomous.