Written By: Shahrom Asmani
(ex-football reporter for a few magazines and newspapers)
39-year old Football Crazy Person has
been in love with football ever since he attended Singapore National Team’s
matches at Kallang Stadium in the roaring 80’s. Has been a goalkeeper for a
good part of the decade for a variety of teams but joined WaF4H last year
because of the team’s mission and values.
WaF4H does not only allow
participants to play football, holistically the team concentrates on various
other aspects as well such as food, nutrition and personal well-being.
Hopefully WaF4H can lengthen this writer’s career, be it in the football field
or in the part-time writing arena as well.
A Launch to Remember
“It’s a good event. After many
trainings, there’s matches for us to play against good opponents. And I get to
improve my game as well.
I get to meet my friends, as well as
make new ones, such as the ones from UM (University of Malaya). Also like a
family day.
Hopefully in 2020, we can have more
members and have more events like this,” she commented.
The comments belonged to a certain
Paridah Bte Said, a dedicated Walking Football4Health (WaF4H) member who has
been with the team since 2017.
She was talking about the Launch
Event of Ten-3Gen, a movement spearheaded by Celebrity Exercise Physiologist
and Nutritionist Dee Dee Mahmood and fully supported by Member of Parliament Mr
Saktiandi Supaat, ActiveSG, Toa Payoh Novena CSC, International Sports Academy,
Edith Cowan University, Australia and Walking Football Association, United
Kingdom.
Many Organizations Fully Supporting
WaF4H Movement
Professor Robert Newton, Associate
Dean, Medical and Exercise Sciences and Research Professor, Exercise and
Medicine Research Institute at Edith Cowan University, Australia, addressed the
crowd with a few important points.
He said, “The number one problem in
the world, currently, is not climate change. It is also not financial issues.
The number one problem that we are currently facing at the moment is chronic
diseases.
This is a great initiative which can
be rolled out to anyone and that is why it is so important to have the three
generations because we need the children, adults and older adults to be
involved in this.
To take responsibility for their
health and really improve their communities. Enjoy your day and I hope you stay
involved with Walking Football for the rest of your life,” he further added.
Professor Robert Newton Giving a
Short Speech
There were many teams that took part
in the day’s Walking Football festivities but 2 teams definitely deserved
special mention.
University of Malaya (UM) came in
from Malaysia to take part in the event and a Celebrities team also decided to
have a go, despite not having any formal training at all.
Rafizzudin Rafiz, an Administration
Officer at the Human Resources Department of UM, said, “Our contingent consists
of 9 players, supposed to be 10 but the player had to pull out last minute due
to family matters.
“We just reached at 7 am in the
morning. All our bags are still here. (in the stadium) Afterwards we will be
checking in to our hotel.
“In 2017, some of our players
actually came to Singapore because they were invited by Dee Dee. We still
maintained close contact and hence, why, we came here today,” Rafizzudin
beamed, even though one can sense his tiredness after a long journey from
Malaysia.
UM Players Taking a Group Photo with
MP Mr Saktiandi
UM Players Participating in a
Competitive Game
The UM players had two weeks of
Walking Football training before they decided to arrive in Singapore on the 30th
November, 2019.
The Celebrities team, however, had no
formal training whatsoever. Nevertheless, they still gave a good account of
themselves.
Eddy Nor Ali, a renowned Malay
Entertainment Celebrity who only plays badminton regularly as his form of
exercise, was impressed by the event.
He said, “It’s a very new experience
for me. First time I am actually playing Walking Football.
I played soccer when I was much
younger. I represented my Secondary School. However, I stopped playing when I
was a young adult because I was injured while playing the game.
Walking Football, the trainings every
Sunday from 5 to 7 pm, is definitely highly encouraged because it will give a
chance for the grandfathers, the grandmothers, the fathers, mothers, daughters,
sons and grandchildren, to bond strongly,” Eddy commented.
Great Opportunity for the Celebrities
to Bond
Yusoff Maruwi Trying to Outfox WaF4H
Goalkeeper Zamri Ismail
WaF4H felt honoured to have many
organizations and important people coming in to support the Walking Football
cause.
Sophian Bin Salleh said, “It’s really
good exposure for everyone. In terms of the matches themselves, it’s good to know
how good or bad we are competitively as we have other teams to play against.
Should there be more tournaments or
launches like this, we have to be prepared to play in competitive games in the
future,” he mentioned.
Kasmawarni Binte Yayit was very pleased
with WaF4H’s efforts on the 30th.
She said, “I felt that the event went
by very smoothly due to everyone chipping in together, a special mention to my
friends and the volunteers under team administration who helped with the
preparations.
The participants looked very happy
and played with a lot of passion even though it was a very hot day.
I really hope that WaF4H can progress
much further and we can attract many people to join us because Walking Football
does not only improve our physical aspect but our mental aspect as well,” she
pointed out.
Mas Azhari Bin Yayit, WaF4H coach,
was very pleased with everyone in terms of their match performance as well as
how everyone worked together to make the Launch a success.
He said, “The event went by smoothly
and it was very fun for everyone. The participants looked very happy and they
were very satisfied with the day’s proceedings.
“Hopefully WaF4H can spread even
further, even throughout the whole world, as an activity that can be fun for
everyone in the family,” the coach hoped for.
Our Coaches Were Introduced to the
Participants
WaF4H Players Who Are Going to Perth,
Australia for the Community Games in December
WaF4H Players Cheering On Their
Teammates
https://www.beritaharian.sg/setempat/300-sertai-kegiatan-bola-sepak-berjalan-tiga-generasi?utm_term=Autofeed&utm_medium=Social&utm_source=Facebook#Echobox=1575162370
https://berita.mediacorp.sg/mobilem/sukan/keluarga-3-generasi-wakili-s-pura-ke-sukan-bola-sepak-berjalan/4370626.html
About Dr Dee and Walking Football4Health:
https://iamdeedeemahmood.blogspot.com/2017/10/i-am-dee-dee-mahmood.html
https://iamdeedeemahmood.blogspot.com/2017/10/i-am-dee-dee-mahmood.html
Walking Football4Health 2019 in Review