Honeyball Utd on making walking football ‘cooler’ and promoting the women’s game in Yorkshire

After a chance meeting on the sidelines of a football pitch in York and a subsequent pint in the pub, Jo Hollings, Kat Richardson and Kate White discussed setting up a women’s only club. In 2025, they decided to approach the FA to start their own recreational football club and together with a committee of multi-talented women, got it off the ground. They named it Honeyball United WFC after the founder of the British Ladies Football Club, Nettie Honeyball.

They delivered a couple of taster sessions for women’s walking football and it proved so popular that it has has now expanded to weekly sessions. Kat and Jo spoke to us about the development of Honeyball Utd and what the club offers to those who play.

Currently 18 people train and play for Honeyball Utd’s walking football team and there is a range of experience within the squad: "Some people used to play football, some people have come back to it and some people have had injuries or medical problems and some just haven't played before and want to have a go. It’s a real mix of people! We are part of the lost generation, we feel it’s important to focus on this age group of women in football, being able to give people an opportunity to participate now and also be part of a team sport. We want to keep any barriers to entry low so people can participate. Everyone is friendly and encouraging and we do have a laugh! We have recently run a club survey and it was great to hear that people love playing walking football and that it’s impacting their physical and mental health in a really positive way”.

We asked how Honeyball Utd is promoting walking football to women in the York area. Jo and Kat explained: "We want to focus on making walking football a bit 'cooler' than it is, people think it’s boring and slow and it really isn't that at all. We want to show people what it’s all about and it’s not just for 'old people'. There is a lot more to walking football than people realise, it’s a lot faster! Your passing and positioning is much different, you can’t run back to recover so you have to think more”.

During the chat, we discussed the opportunities that currently exist for women wanting to play walking football in Yorkshire and how this might differ between regions: "When it comes to women’s walking football, there seems to be a lot going on in the south, but not so much here in the north and people do have to travel miles which is a big commitment. We recently joined a league in Leeds and did much better than we thought, coming 4th out of 8. None of us had really played competitively before and we thought it was going to be a bit of a red card disaster as we didn't know the rules! We've also joined the summer league in Middlesborough, which is very competitive but really fun and friendly. For the future of women's walking football, it would be great to have more teams in the north and see the sport grow and also have access to more pitch space, finding regular pitch space in York is a challenge”.

Having recently secured a grant from the Movement, Activity and Sport Fund, a project funded by David Skaith, Mayor of York and North Yorkshire, and York and North Yorkshire Combined Authority, we asked how this will help Honeyball’s walking football team. As well as the money being used to help provide weekly walking football sessions, it will also be used for training development: "Going forward we want to secure a female coach for walking football, we've already put 3 women through the 'Introduction to Coaching' and one player has completed her 'UEFA C' qualification in the wider club. Having the club’s support gives women the confidence and a safe environment to step forward for development. We want to continue to grow so that people can play at the right level for them, and we can make sure we are offering the right opportunities for development and engagement”.

Looking ahead, we wanted to know what Kat and Jo were hoping they could achieve with Honeyball Utd beyond club level: "Changing the perception of walking football is something we're keen to do, if you tell people you play walking football they look at you...if they gave it a go they'd be surprised…Our big dream is to have our own 3G pitch and sports bar televising women's sports”.

At WF4W, we’re keen to follow the development of Honeyball Utd WFC and other teams in the region to see how the game develops for women wanting to participate in walking football. We wish them the very best of luck… and hope to come watch a game in their very own Honeyball Sports Bar one day!

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