Lee Trundle and Alan Curtis make special appearance at Swansea City AFC Foundation’s walking football session

The EFL’s Week of Action continued with Swansea City legends Lee Trundle and Alan Curtis MBE surprising participants by joining in with the Swansea City AFC Foundation’s walking football session.

The Foundation run the free, weekly sessions at Penlan Leisure Centre and Pure Football Swansea every Thursday for people of all abilities.

The sessions aim to provide a great opportunity for people to play football and socialise in a pressure-free, relaxed environment.

There are an array of health and wellbeing benefits which come from walking football but this week was even more special as Trundle and Curtis provided an extra special boost to participants.

“It’s been brilliant,” said Trundle.

“I’ve been involved with this project for the last couple of years so it’s great to get out there and have a little game, it’s competitive out there as well.

“You see the turnout we have today, we have multiple teams here. It’s not just the football side of it either, it’s the social side.

“People are getting out, having a chat and meeting new people. Especially in today’s world with a focus on mental health, something like this can help.

“You can see everyone is enjoying themselves.”

Curtis – who used to play a role within the club’s community outreach programmes after hanging up his boots – was delighted to have a ball back at his feet.

“It’s nice to be able to kick a ball again, it’s been a long time since I’ve scored a goal, probably about 30 years,” added Curtis.

“You can see that everyone is enjoying themselves as well. It’s mixed abilities, women and men, everybody comes together to have a good time.

“It’s great for us, nice to be asked. Trunds is enjoying himself, I think he’s scored about 300 goals already, I’ve only got about two or three.

“It’s nice for the supporters to interact with people who played for the club a long time ago. We get a lot out of it and I hope everyone else does as well.

“The club has always been good in terms of being a big part of the community, and we’ve always thrown ourselves into community events. Something like this just highlights the connection that is between the club and people of Swansea and the outer reaches.”

Walking football participant Steve Duggan – who joined walking football to help him stay fit after developing arthritis - added: “It’s a pleasure and a privilege to be playing with the likes of Alan Curtis. I’ve been supporting the Swans since 1968 and I remember Alan coming up as a youngster from Rhondda!

“Same with Lee Trundle, I’ve seen him since he first came to Swansea, he’s probably the most flamboyant footballers I’ve seen playing live. Now I’ve just been playing against Lee and some of his wizardry and trickery are highly evident, as it is with Alan as well.”

The walking football sessions are led by the dedicated team at Swans Foundation. Health and wellbeing officer, Robin O’Brien, believes that the presence of the club legends was excellent for everyone at the session.

“It’s been absolutely fantastic,” he said.

“There’s been a massive turn out, and it’s great to see everyone enjoying exercise, and having fun.

“It’s fantastic to have Lee and Alan come down to the session too, you could see everyone was absolutely loving it, including them.

“It’s an inspiration for us and the participants but you can also see that Lee and Alan really enjoy it as well. We don’t have to prod them to get involved, they’re straight in and it’s a real honour to be able to invite them down.”

Talking about the importance of the walking football sessions and the positive impact they can have on the mental health and wellbeing of people in Swansea, O’Brien concluded:

“There’re different aspects to walking football.

“The mental health side of it is something that we’re trying to promote a lot, having a little bit of structure in your day can make a big difference.

“Of course there’s the physical exercise but it’s the camaraderie and the fun that we have together that’s brilliant. Everyone looks forward to it and the sessions are going really well.”

Interested in joining walking football?

Swansea City AFC Foundation run two free walking football sessions every Thursday at the following times:

Penlan Leisure Centre (indoor sports hall) - 11am - 12pm

Pure Football Swansea (3G) – 1pm - 2pm

To register for any upcoming walking football sessions click HERE and for more information you can contact Robin by sending an email to robin@swansfoundation.org.uk