The dark side of (later-life) leisure: The case of walking football

Thomas, Gareth ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4959-2337 2024. The dark side of (later-life) leisure: The case of walking football. Leisure Sciences 10.1080/01490400.2024.2373410 Item availability restricted.

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Abstract

Leisure is heralded as a channel for connection, belonging, and inclusion in later-life, particularly owing to a presumed threat of isolation and loneliness. Yet, such a framing of later-life leisure risks obscuring moments of conflict and marginalization. Drawing on interviews with 65 people who play walking football, this article explores how players praise its “inclusive” ethic by asserting and celebrating open recruitment policies, the participation of men and women from mixed social backgrounds, and the accommodations afforded to certain players. However, participants simultaneously highlight instances in which inclusion is compromised, such as players disturbing the “ethos” of the sport and mistreating others on account of gender and/or performance levels. Such transgressions, in turn, are navigated in different ways by players and organizers to preserve the sport’s inclusive reputation. To conclude, this article sketches out how the experiences of walking footballers can disrupt sentimental and idealized conceptions of older people’s leisure.

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:	1521-0588
Date of First Compliant Deposit:	29 May 2024
Date of Acceptance:	24 May 2024
Last Modified:	09 Nov 2024 14:00
URI:	https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/169240

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