Waddle tipped for surprise comeback aged 62 amid non-league side's injury crisis

18 October 2023 , 09:43

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Chris Waddle could make a return to football despite being in his 60s

Chris Waddle could be lacing up his boots months shy of his 63rd birthday as Hallam FC issue an SOS call.

The non-league side have seen their playing squad dismantled by an injury crisis, which forced them to play with 10 men in their most recent outing against Stocksbridge Park Steels. Hallam's next assignment comes this weekend against Coventry United in the FA Vase and the former England international could be in action.

Waddle has played for the ninth-tier outfit before and enjoys a unique relationship with the club. The Sheffield Star reports that there's a strong possibility the former Marseille and Sheffield Wednesday star could make a return to feature for the club this weekend.

The 62-cap England international played for his country at two World Cups and was one of the most decorated midfielders of his generation, who is still idolised in the south of France, where he won three successive French titles and reached the European Cup final.

He moved to Hillsborough in 1992, spending four years with Wednesday in the Premier League before going on to spend several spells at lower-league clubs in Scotland and England. His time in the Football League ended in the late 1990s with Torquay, but he's since playing for several non-league sides.

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Waddle signed a one-year deal on 1 August 2013 to play for Hallam as they pushed for promotion that season and could return a decade later. The former player previously opened up on his love of the game, which continues to pull him back.

Chris Waddle was a leading light in the 1980s and 1990s (Daily Mirror)

He told the Non-League Paper: “I was talking to someone the other day about music and I asked why does Rod Stewart or Mick Jagger and The Rolling Stones keep touring? They must be so secure money-wise, why do they still do it? They said, ‘Well why do you still play football?’. Because I love it and my friend said, ‘well, there’s your answer’.”

In 2020 he also added: “I still watch Hallam FC at the oldest football ground in the world and it’s still got the slope! My friend Richard (Pillinger) has just taken over as chairman and they’ve got a new manager in Craig Denton, who was at Worksop. I know Craig so I’m hoping good things will happen.”

Samuel Meade