Football keeping dementia sufferers' minds active

The group talks about matches they remember, like Norwich's 3-0 win over Manchester United in the FA Cup in 1959

Older football fans living with dementia have said that sharing memories of past games has been a brilliant way to keep their minds active and meet new people.

The group, called Still On The Ball, meets at Norwich City's stadium once a month to reminisce about matches prior to the 1970s.

Organisers Age UK Norwich said the sessions showed how "sport and memory can come together to make a difference".

Eddie Edwards, 69, said a woman at the group told him she came along with "a guy living with dementia and I go home with my husband".

Attending the group was "an enjoyable afternoon out" Alan Goodyear said

Canaries fan Alan Goodyear, 78, said he could clearly remember Norwich City's 1959 cup run, which included a 3-0 win by the then-Third Division team over Manchester United, but ended in semi-final defeat to Luton Town.

He was a child at the time and went to the game with his neighbours, where he was passed over the top of the crowd so he could be at the front of the stand to get a view.

He said it was "unbelievable how they managed to find him after the game... that happened a lot in them days".

Mr Goodyear said he enjoyed talking about old games and that it was "nice to come out and meet people".

The group, that has been going for a decade, meet every month to talk about football

Still On The Ball has been running for 10 years.

Age UK's health and community outreach officer Katy Omer said football was a shared passion and something members connected over.

"We have some people that have dementia and this is a great way of them reliving their past, which is a nice, easy memory to get back for them," she said.

'Sitting about is lethal'

Peter Woodcock, 82, said he remembered England World Cup winner-to-be Nobby Styles coming over to take a throw-in in front of the Norwich fans in the 1959 match.

"We were giving him what for, and he actually gave us what for back verbally," he said.

"That's a memory that I always think of... you just feel pleased that there is that stuff in your mind, and it does get drawn out."

John Howard, 79, remembered standing on the terraces in 1956 at Norwich.

He said he was new to the group and loved getting out and talking football.

"Sitting about is lethal for me.... I've got to be doing something," he said.

John Howard said he remembered being a small child and seeing Hungarian refugees watching the games in the 1950s