An Over 50s Walking Football Club, famed by a current Barclays TV advert, have been given Premier league treatment with the donation of a specialist case to transport vital kit and medical equipment overseas.
In April 2015 the club will be travelling to Portugal for the first ever international walking football match and will be using a Zarges case, donated by specialist packaging manufacturer GWP Protective.
Richard Coombes is General Manager of Wiltshire-based GWP Protective and said: “I’d seen the Walking Football Club on TV and thought what an excellent sport this is. The Club contacted me and said they were looking for something suitable in which to carry all their kit to the Algarve for an international friendly. It needed to be lightweight but strong and lockable so I immediately thought of the Zarges case. We have over the past 18 months been a leading supplier of these ‘Kit skips’ throughout the footballing pyramid from the premier league to the conference and have seen a significant increase in the amount of teams who now use these as their preferred transportation method. We were delighted to be able to donate a case to them.”
Over 50s Walking Football started in Hampshire and will soon have full English FA coverage in all regions. Participation in the sport has increased dramatically in the last six months and is set to become the largest growth sport in the UK. The ages of players in the club range from 50 – 83.
Michael Quinn runs the Football Club featured in the Barclays advert and said: “with our players being older we do have to be prepared for any eventuality. The protective case will carry defibrillators, physio bag, crutches, Cryocuffs, footballs plus all our football kit. The aluminium case that GWP has given us is light, sturdy and lockable so I can relax in the knowledge that the equipment is protected and secure. We are absolutely delighted that the guys at GWP have given us this case, it’s really helped us out.”
The club’s international trip will be filmed for a documentary that’s currently being made about the Club and the rise of this innovative sport.
The long-established GWP Group, based in Cricklade and Salisbury, is a market-leading designer and manufacturer of corrugated packaging as well as specialist protective packaging products. The group designs and manufactures packaging solutions for local, regional and international companies and offers packaging across the entire spectrum of packaging products.
The business employs over 100 staff across its five divisions – GWP Packaging, GWP Protective, GWP Correx, GWP Conductive and GWP Coatings.
For more information about GWP Protective cases see: www.gwp.co.uk For more information about walking football see www.surreyfa.com/players/walking-football
Pictured above: The Over 50s Walking Football Club team with GWP’s Zarges Case
