Former pro athletes compete at Footgolf World Cup

Alan Smith used to play soccer at the highest level, in England’s Premier League.

Now retired, he’s competing at the Footgolf World Cup in Orlando.

"I think people hear footgolf and think ‘oh that’d be easy for an ex-professional soccer player’ it’s very, very different and it’s very, very difficult," Smith said.

Even though athletes are using their legs and feet to play this sport, footgolf is nothing like soccer. There’s a lot of starting and stopping — the opposite of playing on the pitch.

"In professional soccer, you never want the ball to stop," Smith said. "In footgolf, you’ve got to get the ball to stop. So trying to master that skill, especially on the congelation’s and the beauty of the courses that have been created have caused lots of problems."

Smith isn’t the only former pro athlete competing at the tournament. Foemer Dolphins kicker, Olindo Mare ja suiting up for team USA.This is exactly what event organizers want — high-profile athletes bringing interest to the sport.

"We wanted the sport to be popular. But also we understood that a former professional soccer player who used to be in the spotlight, when they retire, they don’t do much with sport," American Footgolf Federation founder, Roberto Balestrini said. "But even if they’re 70-80 years old, they never lose the touch."As for Smith, he devotes much of his time to coaching at the XL Soccer Academy in Orlando. But it’s a nice change of pace to be back out competing.