A Nottinghamshire walking football team was unexpectedly saved by Spanish football giants Athletic Club Bilbao after a sudden electrical and telecommunications blackout left them stranded in the Algarve, Portugal.
Santos Walking Football Club Nottingham, with members from Mansfield Woodhouse and Nottingham, found themselves stuck at a football stadium with no taxis available and no way to contact their hotel due to the widespread outage. In an extraordinary act of sportsmanship, Athletic Club Bilbao offered the team space on their luxurious coach, ensuring their safe return to the hotel.
Tour Manager Gray Salt expressed his gratitude: “It was so good of the guys from Athletic Club Bilbao to step in and help in our hour of need. It proves what the walking football community is all about.”
The Santos WFC team, made up of over-50s players, was in Portugal for the Eurocopa Trophy, where they enjoyed a successful run, finishing as runners-up. They narrowly lost 2-1 in the final against Watford WFC, competing among 23 teams over two days.
Santos WFC holds regular sessions at Debdale Sports Club in Mansfield Woodhouse and Powerleague Nottingham and continues to foster community, fitness, and camaraderie through walking football.