# A Multi-Stakeholder Evaluation of a Walking Football Group for People with Dementia Developed in Partnership with a Premier League Club

## TL;DR

This study evaluates a dementia-friendly walking football initiative, showing its benefits for physical, mental, and social wellbeing in underserved older male communities.

## Contribution

The paper introduces a novel, multi-stakeholder evaluation of a dementia-friendly walking football program in partnership with a Premier League club.

## Key findings

- Participants valued football for its cultural and personal identity significance.
- The initiative fostered a sense of community and teamwork among attendees.
- A research-based evaluation approach helped identify service improvements.

## Abstract

Dementia-friendly walking football offers a way of helping people who are less likely to engage with traditional services to participate in physical activity and support their physical, mental and social wellbeing. This addresses a gap in the current provision of post-diagnostic dementia support in the UK. However, there is a lack of evidence around such models of service provision. Through the evaluation of a newly established dementia-friendly walking football initiative provided by a Premier League charitable foundation, we explored the social, physical and mental benefits of dementia-friendly walking football for older males from underserved communities. Using a qualitative, exploratory approach, we held focus groups with service providers and service users to understand their views and experiences of delivering and attending dementia-friendly walking football sessions. A thematic analysis of the focus groups revealed three main themes relating to the importance of football to cultural and individual identity, namely, ‘for the love of the game’, ‘team players’ and ‘a game changer’. We also highlight how a multi-disciplinary, research-based approach to the evaluation of a service and identification of service improvements can both involve and benefit people living with dementia and their families.