AN OVER-50s walking football club which starred in a Barclays Bank TV ad has been helped to the premier league by a leading packaging manufacturer’s generous gift.

The club, which hails from Hampshire, was donated the specialist Zarges case by Cricklade based firm GWP which will help with the transportation of kit and medical equipment.

Over 50s walking football started in Hampshire and the ages of players range from 50 to 83.

Running, sprinting and jogging is banned in the matches and are punishable with a free kick against the offending side.

Walking football, aimed at keeping men of progressing age fit, will soon have full English FA coverage in all regions and is set to become the largest growth sport in the UK.

And the donation from Wiltshire comes ahead of the first international walking football match to be held in Portugal in April which will be filmed for a documentary about the rise of the new sport.

Richard Coombes, general manager of GWP Protective, said he was intrigued by the new sport and wanted to help out.

He 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.”

GWP has previously come to the aid of premiership football clubs and the case brings a touch of top-flight football to the new sport, Richard said.

“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,” he said.

“We were delighted to be able to donate a case to them.”

The company employs more than 100 staff across five divisions – GWP Packaging, GWP Protective, GWP Correx, GWP Conductive and GWP Coatings. Michael Quinn runs the Over 50s Walking Football Club, and praised the company for its generosity.

He 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.

“We are absolutely delighted that the guys at GWP have given us this case, it’s really helped us out.”

For more information about walking football see www.surreyfa.com/players/walking-football.