Spanish Eyes, English Words

For a small town with a population of around 4,000, the boys in Algorfa are pretty obsessed with their football. The town boasts a modern, state-of-the-art stadium that would be the envy of a few English league teams, and there’s a game going on most days, whether it’s the up and coming boys, Algorfa F.C, or the Lo Crispin Mens Walking Football Team.

If you’re wondering what walking football is, it’s football for the over 55s, and there’s no contact or running involved. It’s still a serious workout though, and not for the faint hearted. The Lo Crispin team has been around for two years now, and is a major part of the sporting community in Algorfa. They play on Mondays from 4.00 pm until 5.30 pm and on Thursdays from 10.30 am until 12.00 pm. Then they retire to the Tavern Bar Lo Crispin for refreshments and post match analysis.

The team are proud to display the town crest of Algorfa on their shirts, and grateful to the Ayuntamiento for allowing them to use the pitch free of charge. After being welcomed into the bosom of the sporting community, the boys felt they wanted to give something back, and they got the chance to do this recently when there was a boys’ football tournament over the Easter break.

Lo Crispin Mens Walking Football Team financed the trophies, and Committee member John Pratt presented the trophies on the night. Mike Cooper – aka Cooperman – who writes the match reports and tries to keep some semblance of order on the pitch said the team felt privileged to have the opportunity to help encourage youngsters to achieve in the sport. ‘We welcome the chance to give something back to the community after they’ve been so supportive of the first-ever walking football team in Algorfa. Who knows, in 50 years time, some of these boys may be playing for us!’

Read more about Algorfa and life in Spain at Sandra In Spain.com