Inspired by World Cup fever? For older men who have never played football, it's probably not too late to learn and reap the numerous health benefits, according to researchers who watched a small group of seniors become remarkably fitter.

Researchers at the University of Copenhagen divided 27 men between the ages of 63 and 70 into groups in which they practiced either football or strength training twice a week for an hour. A third group remained inactive for control purposes.

Overall results showed the football players made a 30 percent improvement in muscle function, and oxygen intake capacities increased by 15 percent.

There was even improvement in bone mineralization, researchers say, stressing the importance of bone health in the elderly.

Although the strength training group improved their fitness, the football players had the best results in terms of maximal aerobic fitness and exhaustive exercise performance.

"The results provide strong evidence that football is an intense, versatile and effective form of training, including for untrained elderly men. It is definitely never too late to start playing football," says Professor Peter Krustrup of the Copenhagen Centre for Team Sport and Health, University of Copenhagen. "Football boosts physical capacity and heart health, and minimizes the risk of falls and fractures in elderly, men who have never played football before or have not played for decades."

Although the players in question are unlikely to become the next center forwards in the World Cup, researchers say their workouts may be approaching those of the stars.

"The players had heart rates that were sky high and corresponded to the values obtained during elite football games," says Associate Professor Eva Wulff Helge of the Department of Nutrition, Exercise and Sports, University of Copenhagen.

The study was published in the Scandinavian Journal of Medicine and Science in Sports.

Other health benefits of football include reduced blood pressure, elevated heart function and increased exercise capability in men affected by Type 2 diabetes, as researchers from the same university reported last year.