This 71-year-old granddad is the Lionel Messi of walking football

By James Gamble

Meet the Brit dubbed the "Lionel Messi of walking football"—a 71-year-old grandfather who has already captained England to three major trophies.

Spencer Pratten, who played semi-pro football for over 20 years, got into walking football around 10 years ago after finding 11-a-side was getting too physical.

He was recently crowned the sport's World Player of the Year after captaining the national side to two World Cups and a European Nations Cup—leading to comparisons with Argentina legend Messi.

However, Pratten, a semi-retired chartered surveyor, jokes that the only thing that's accurate about the comparison is his similarly diminutive height of 5 feet 7 inches.

The father of two and grandfather of one, from Great Waltham, near Chelmsford in Essex, also captains the Chelmsford City team and harbors dreams of one day seeing the sport played in the Olympics.

On being named World Player of the Year by the Federation of International Walking Football Associations (FIFWA), the lifelong West Ham fan said: "I'm still getting my head around it.

"I'm definitely Messi—that's what my partner Claire says I'm like around the house, anyway.

"I'm also a short arse... Both Lionel Messi and me are 5 feet 7 inches, so I'm more like Messi than Ronaldo.

"It is a nice label to have, though."

Pratten explained that, after finding 11-a-side increasingly difficult as the years wore on, a friend invited him to a walking football training session.

Over the years, the midfielder played semi-professionally for clubs around Essex, as well as playing veterans football until he was around 60.

"11-a-side was getting a bit physical by that time," Pratten admits.

"But walking football is nothing like people portray. They think it's old men stumbling around, but it's energetic and fun.

"All I wanted to do was carry on playing football, albeit at a slower pace."

After growing into the sport, which has gained increasingly fast popularity across the world, Pratten joined the national squad in 2018.

He led the team out for its first game that same year at the Amex Stadium in Brighton against Italy.

Pratten then led the team to victory in the first-ever European Nations Cup in around 2021, before winning the inaugural World Cup at St. George's Park, beating France 3-1 in the final.

Then, in October last year, his England team beat Ireland 1-0 to win its second World Cup in Spain.

"There's only been three major competitions and we've won all three," Pratten said.

Pratten has now captained England Over 60s in 55 matches, scoring an impressive 44 goals.

The Walking Football Association (WFA) splits players into age categories of decades—e.g., 50s, 60s and 70s.

Games are played on pitches around a quarter of the size of a full-sized football field.

Three main rules govern the games: players must walk and not run, there's no physical contact and the ball remains under head height.

Pratten, having played for Chelmsford City's over-60s team for eight years, recently moved up to the over-70s team, which still has five 80-year-olds on its roster.

England now boasts more than 1,200 walking football clubs, with the sport being played in over 80 countries around the world and with popularity growing in Spain, France, Italy, the U.S. and Australia.

"Because it started in England, we were probably three or four years ahead of the game," Pratten admits.

"It's an incredible sport, but it's more than just that. It's the camaraderie and health, both mental and physical, that's just brilliant for people in their 60s and 70s.

"It's a very inclusive game. It's like being back at school, with the banter and ribbing, which is what we miss most about football.

"Football has been a huge part of my life and now it continues to be.

"If you are thinking, 'I miss football,' there's a whole new world out there.

"At Chelmsford City, we just say, 'Come to one of our sessions and have a look.'

"Walking football has changed my life. Everybody's got something they loved but you get to an age where it fades out.

"Football is my real love and when I had to stop playing, it was a real shock.

"But walking football came along and has opened up a whole new spectrum for people like me.

"My advice to anybody who's missing the game and wants to get back into fitness is to go on the WFA website, find a club and give them a ring.

"If you're over 50, you've got 20 or 25 years more football ahead of you."

Pratten even hopes the sport could gain enough traction to one day be played at the Olympics, saying: "It's not an Olympic sport yet, but looking at some Olympic sports, I wouldn't be surprised if it did become one.

"I would like to see it as an Olympic sport."

Paul Carr, founder and president of FIFWA, said he even envisages a Premier League for the sport in due course.

"When it's played properly, walking football is an entertaining sport," he said.

"Our position is probably equivalent to where women's football was 10 years ago.

"Having seen a number of excellent walking footballers at the recent World Nations Cup, our view was that Spencer by far was the best.

"This is the walking football equivalent of the Ballon d'Or. Messi's won that eight times, so I'm not sure if Spencer has his sights set on something similar.

"And apart from being a great walking footballer, he's a really nice guy as well.

"The sport was only invented 13 years ago, but it's now being played in 88 countries, which is pretty amazing.

"It's purely through word of mouth. We have just been to Las Vegas for talks about developing the sport in the States, and we've been to Brazil, Japan, Singapore and Africa.

"It's growing pretty quickly on every continent. It's a really great sport."