It was a dream come true for Coach Masazhari Yayit (from left to right) and players – Mohammad Yusri Mahmud, Jonet Mohd Yusof, Masuri Yayit, Hamdi Bakri, Hanafe Abdul Ghani, Jahari Jadi, Ben Danial and Shukor Abdul Lihin, nine Walking Footballers as Member of Parliament for Bishan-Toa Payoh GRC, Mr Saktiandi Supaat (in blue) gave them a celebrity send-off at the Singapore Changi International Airport on 29 May 2019, as they head off to London to compete in the inaugural IWFF World Cup Walking Football 2019.
Media coverages on Team Singapore to World Cup Walking Football London:
MediaCorp News
https://berita.mediacorp.sg/mobilem/sukan/9-pemain-melayu-s-pura-ini-ke-england-bagi-piala-dunia-walking/4287638.html
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| Berita Harian Media Coverage, 1 June 2019 |
On TV Suria Lensa Ramadan:
https://www.facebook.com/166658740839276/posts/434481034057044/
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| Singapore Team at the Leyton Orient Stadium, venue of the IWFF Walking Football World Cup 2019 |
The Singapore team had been training dilligently every Sundays. Their commitment and dedication persisted into the Ramadan fasting month and they even trained twice weekly on Saturdays and Sundays, during the last month before they embarked for the World Cup.
Their performance certainly showed with all these trainings. While not having a placing in the World Cup against the likes of England, France, Italy, their scores showed their hard work and teamwork.
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| Singapore with England Team |
England met France in the finals and eventually emerged the World Cup winner with a 2-0 win. Against the Singapore team, England won by a solitary penalty goal of 1-0. Singapore vs France was a 0-2 won by France, whereas Singapore vs Italy ended with a 0-1 score. The FULL video matches of Singapore vs Italy, India, Cyprus, France, Turkey, England and Australia is on Dee Dee Mahmood Fanpage and Walking Football4Health Asia Facebook Pages
It was respectable scores nonetheless for the Singapore team. From the observations of Prof Dr Heil ” The Singapore team became better as they progressed through the day with every match.” This is encouraging noting that some of these players were not experienced in playing international matches, outside Asia.
Most importantly, the team has gained valuable experience (“experience that money can’t buy” was the sentence uttered by many of the players at the World Cup) and learned the standards that is required to perform on the world stage. Therefore, we can go home to evaluate and analyse our performance to gear up to better – equip ourselves in future international matches and competitions.
Noting that this is the first time that Singapore qualifies for the World Cup, this track record is a good start for a sport that is relatively new in Singapore and within the region.
Dr Dee Dee Mahmood (in red with a hat, in the photo above), Adjunct Senior Lecturer of Edith Cowan University Australia, spearheaded this community-friendly modified sport with its main objective on health, in mid 2017 with a mere 10 ladies participation. No men wanted to come forth, as this sport was deemed not “macho” or “manly” enough.
However, the promotions of the sport in the community with its #commitmenttohealth emphasis, social interactions and bondings appealed to the community at large , especially with its family involvement element.
Fast forward today, two years later, Dr Dee Dee, who is also a multi-award winning Exercise Physiologist, Nutritionist and Talk Show Host, whose hard work in Walking Football4Health Asia, has brought the Walking Football4Health team to several countries in Asia, in a communities-crossing-countries Health Empowerment Movement and is roaring stronger in Singapore, Malaysia and in the region with record growth in numbers of walking football participations.
More about Dr Dee Dee & Walking Football4Health:
http://iamdeedeemahmood.blogspot.sg/2017/10/i-am-dee-dee-mahmood.html
Scientific Research Contributions at the World Cup
There are academic scientific research contributions to the sport as well. Dr Dee Dee collaborated with Prof Dr Dan Heil of University of Montana, the Past President of American College of Sports Medicine and Prof Dr Rob Newton, Associate Dean, School of Medical Health Sciences at Edith Cowan University Australia with scientific researches on walking football at the World Cup. Watch this space as we release it here after thescientific data is analysed and published.
A previous research was conducted by Drs Dee Dee, Heil and Newton on walking football and south east asian women in characterising the cardiovascular and metabolic intensity of walking football. Read here https://scholarworks.montana.edu/xmlui/handle/1/14965
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| Pre-match Referee briefing while Prof Heil and Prof Newton looked on |
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The Australian mascot |
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Congratulations was in order from Terry Rice, Founder of IWFF World Cup 2019   But interestingly in this World Cup, the highlight was the fun, enjoyment and camaraderie all the teams showed irregardless of nationalities and cultures, where friendships were developed. The most valuable take aways from the World Cup is making new friends and expanding contacts and network.  |
Here are more of the fun at the World Cup:
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The Lineups  
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| Dr Dee Dee with Ashleigh Hopkins, Chelsea Head Coach |
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The Referees LATEST PRESS RELEASE ANNOUNCEMENTS
(13 June 2019)
  Dr Dee Dee appointed the
Director, International Development & Research, Federation of International Walking Football Associations (FIWFA),
Walking Football Association (WFA) England
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Our London experience:
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| At The British Museum |
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| Our Lovely Stay at 49, Kilburn with our neighbour |
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| Watching Champion League Finals at The Wembley Box Park |
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| Underground London |
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| The Bus in London |
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| Team Singapore arriving in London |
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| On flight |
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| With our families at Singapore Changi Airport |
– Wahyu Brand
– Captain Kim Korean Hotpot & BBQ
– Chef Amri Azim of Steak Me
– Lifehacks
– Our World Cup Apparels, Footballs & Pennants courtesy of ENIGMA
#changirecommends #changiWiFi #TravelfromSG for the GREAT CONNECTIVITY! For beaming a history-making inaugural event on a world stage
Playing walking football in the World Cup in London has truly been an enriching and inspiring experience for us. Memories-making moments that will last a lifetime….