Down but not out as inseparable Portsmouth seniors remain strong under coronavirus threat

Pompey in the Community Walking Football Club have been forced into a hiatus, the coronavirus outbreak dictating the sidelining of the successful Roko-based team.

With 20 of their squad aged 70 or more, the club represent the demographic most vulnerable to the deadly pandemic.

On Monday, a turnout of 26 players were present at the final session before taking a temporary break.

Since the club’s inception in June 2014, they have captured 18 trophies, including the Over-70s National Cup in October 2018.

However, the coronavirus situation has forced their separation.

Chairman Alan Scott, aged 74, said: ‘There’s a group of us which meet on a Tuesday morning for coffee down Palmerston Road.

‘There were fewer of us this week, four in total, and we’re going to set up a WhatsApp group for walking football so we can all keep in touch.

‘If they close the restaurants, push comes to shove we’ll go to the seafront and take a flask of coffee and have a chat down there, which underlines how important the social aspect of walking football has become.

‘At our age, we never thought we’d have the opportunity to play football again – but also it’s the camaraderie.

‘If you’ve been used to playing competitive sport, the one thing you miss in later life is that dressing room banter. Now that has been put on hold.

‘The underlying feeling was Monday would probably be our last training session for a while. I turned up at Roko thinking nobody would be there, but was absolutely shocked, we had a full house.

‘The sad thing is, who knows when we’ll be back together again?’

The club are also overseen by secretary Giorgio Colombi and club captain Nick Robinson.

And the necessity to prioritise public health is understood.

Scott added: ‘Our club has a very high percentage of 70-year-olds, plus two in their 80s.

‘In terms of coronavirus, our age group is going to be most affected, nut the fact we’ve been playing for six years means we are active and pretty fit, so hopefully that will help in the current climate.’