Costa del Sol News: Don’t run, just walk! Players raise funds for prostate cancer in La Cala de Mijas

On Sunday the boys from Walking Football Spain hit La Cala de Mijas en masse for their annual Sportsman’s Lunch to raise funds in aid of Prostate Cancer Research.

Euro Weekly News was honoured to be asked to attend the event for such a good cause.

The charity is one that hits close to home for the men as some of their team members are currently in different stages of treatment for prostate cancer.

Walking football Spain currently has around 120 players aged between 50 and 76 years old who play between three different locations Benalmadena, Benahavis and Elviria.

The lads had a fun-packed afternoon ahead of them with lots of entertainment and

the atmosphere was everything you would expect from an afternoon with passionate football fans, laughs, jokes and most importantly brotherly camaraderie.

Hosted by Master of Ceremonies Robin Beith, who did his best to keep the ball rolling and handle the crowd with loads of impromptu laughs. A game of Irish Bingo, an auction and a raffle had the guys happily digging into their pockets to outdo each other with their eye on the prize.

First guest speaker Chris Whitley took to the mic to discuss his 34-year career in the Welsh FA. With anecdotes including discovering a young Ian Rush and his time with Cardiff City’s Craig Bellamy.

Then it was time for the much-anticipated star speaker Mark Clattenburg. He took everybody on a trip through his career recalling the time he was holidaying in La Cala with his family in 2012 and received a call asking him to referee the first Champions League game for Malaga CF and his 2016 golden year when he was not only asked to referee the Champions League final in Milan but also the FA Cup Final and the UEFA Euro 2016 Final.

Mark invited the Walking Football members to the mic to ask him questions and the guys didn’t hold back. One of the men was daring enough to ask Mark to come and referee a match for them on Monday as he joked that he was sure some members of the team were running and not walking.

When asked about his views on walking football he showed his support by saying “It is a sport that is going to grow. If you can carry on enjoying something in your life you should never give up.”

Robin wrapped up the afternoon thanking everybody who attended for their help in a very successful fundraising event and highlighting the great support they have for the sport and each other. The day was a huge hit and managed to raise funds in excess of €2000 for Prostrate Cancer Research charity Positively Blue.