'Biggest sport no one's heard of': Walking soccer gains ground in Canada

Kerrin Hands calls walking soccer "the biggest sport no one's heard of."

Hands, who runs the Toronto Walking Soccer Club, was initially skeptical about the appeal of a no-running version of the world's most popular game. But it didn't take long for the game to win him over.

"The game is pretty engaging. When I first heard of it and I went to play for the first time, I had my doubts, walking through it didn't sound that exciting," Hands said. "But within 10 minutes, I totally understood it.

"You have to be able to pass well, you have to move into position well because you've got to make up for the fact that you can't run. So I think that's almost like a game of chess. You really are tactical, and the passing has to be quick."

Hands has organized what's being billed as North America's first-ever women's international walking soccer tournament, set for Thursday at the Pickering Soccer Centre in Pickering, Ont. Four teams — including his own Toronto Loons — will take part, featuring players from Canada and the British Isles.

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Among them is the Celtic Nations Women's Walking Football team, travelling from overseas for what Hands calls "the largest gathering of women to play in a walking soccer event on the continent."

The sport was created in 2011 in England by John Crute, the chairman of Chesterfield Football Club. According to a release, there are now 200,000 players in England, and there are 20 clubs in Canada, from Vancouver Island to Halifax.

Clubs also exist in Australia, New Zealand, France, Rwanda, Nigeria, Thailand, Singapore and Spain, which will host the World