‘It’s lovely to have sense of belonging’: older men’s involvement in walking football

Thomas, Gareth ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4959-2337 2024. ‘It’s lovely to have sense of belonging’: older men’s involvement in walking football. Leisure Studies 10.1080/02614367.2024.2376825 Item availability restricted.

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Abstract

Men’s participation in group leisure is often promoted as a vehicle for social connection in later-life. However, current research often either assumes this or rarely extends their analysis beyond underbaked statements about its value. Informed by sociological scholarship attending to the intersections of community, belonging, and leisure, I draw on 43 interviews with older men playing walking football to sketch out how men forge bonds and belonging both on and off the pitch. Participation means that men reshape their selves in light of (expected) loneliness and isolation in later-life. They cherish the ‘camaraderie’, ‘banter’, and friendships with other men. Moreover, they welcome and enact modes of care and interdependence, in which dwelling alongside other men gave security and reassurance when confronted by embodied vulnerability. By taking claims of social connection seriously, and placing this firmly under the microscope, I view men’s involvement in walking football not as an individual pursuit occurring alongside others, but as a collective act and social experience. I conclude by reflecting on the value of this approach and possible future areas of social inquiry.

Item Type:	Article
Date Type:	Published Online
Status:	In Press
Schools:	Social Sciences (Includes Criminology and Education)
Subjects:	H Social Sciences > H Social Sciences (General) H Social Sciences > HM Sociology
Publisher:	Taylor and Francis Group
ISSN:	0261-4367
Date of First Compliant Deposit:	2 July 2024
Date of Acceptance:	2 July 2024
Last Modified:	09 Nov 2024 11:45
URI:	https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/170210

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