Player Story: Rosie Allan

71-year-old Bracknell and WFA England Over 60s Goalkeeper, Rosie Allan, shares her inspiring story of a life in sport, her recent battles with breast cancer and the proud moment she was called upon to represent her country in walking football.

Rosie Allan with her Player of the Year award

I’m Rosie Allan, I’m 71 years old and I’m a goalkeeper! I’ve been playing walking

football for about five years. I play for Bracknell Town Walking Football Club, the

South-East National League and England over-60s. I also take part in mixed teams

for Bracknell. After being at Bracknell for a couple of weeks, I was asked to go for

England trials and was delighted to be accepted! Walking football has brought me so

many great experiences.

My husband, Bill, is extremely supportive and comes along to all of my games and

training, which means a lot to me. My children are also really encouraging and come

to watch occasionally.

A Sporty Life

I’ve always been very sporty. I was a founder member of the Runnymede Runners,

and ran the London Marathon three times. My three children (now adults) are also

very sporty, and played football, netball, table-tennis, uni-hoc, athletics and more

when they were younger, which I always supported and encouraged. In my son’s

football training I would even step into goal! I have also coached junior football teams

and other after-school sports clubs, to give children the chance to enjoy sport.

Professionally, I worked with special needs children and young adults, encouraging

and promoting sport in the community.

Rosie Allan in goal for England o60

Discovering walking football

I first heard about walking football through a friend, who encouraged me to go down

to Bracknell. Straight away they were very welcoming and friendly. I love competitive

sport and walking football offers an amazing opportunity to take part at any age over

40. I’ve also found that there is a great team spirit and community.

Most memorable moments

My first England cap (against Wales) was such a proud moment! And in 2024, I

played my first match abroad, having been selected to go to Spain – it was a real

honour to represent my country. I now have four caps, and each match was another

highlight in my England career!

Rosie Allan's England caps

Also representing Bracknell in various leagues, including Thames Valley League,

especially the occasions when we’ve won the tournament! I was proud to be Player

of the Year in 2024, especially as it was voted for by my team-mates

Another memorable moment was on my 70th birthday – I was at England training,

and they surprised me with a lovely cake in the shape of an England kit and there

was a lot of cheering in the bar! I’d like to see the expansion of teams for older age groups, especially for women, which pleasingly we’re already starting to see.

Benefits to my health

In March 2025, I was diagnosed with breast cancer (for the second time, having

previously been diagnosed in 2011). The last year has been very challenging but I’ve

come through it with lots of support from family and also from Bracknell and England

walking football teams – who have been excellent and so caring. I was so keen to

get back to football, that it gave me a great motivation for getting through treatment

and getting fit and healthy again.

I’ve made many friends through walking football and I hope to keep playing for many

more years.

If you'd like to follow Rosie's teams on Facebook click on the club badges: