Disability Football: 5 a Side, 7 a Side, Soccer
Author: Disabled World
Updated/Revised Date: 2023/12/13
Category Topic: Disability Football Information (Publications Database)
Page Content: Synopsis Introduction Main Subtopics
Synopsis: Information regarding disability football, including soccer and 5 and 7 a side games. How can the blind play football? The ball is specially designed to produce sounds as it moves so that the players know where it is located. The goalkeepers have a special coach behind them, who tells them where they need to go, left or right. Various changes in the rules can take place to facilitate those who are playing and their impairments, but the intention is always to keep the game as close as possible to the standard, non-disabled sport.
Introduction
Paralympic football consists of adaptations of the sport of association football for athletes with a physical disability. These sports are typically played using International Federation of Association Football (FIFA) rules, with modifications to the field of play, equipment, numbers of players, and other rules as required to make the game suitable for the athletes.
Main Document
Disability Football Games Include:
- 5-a-side football: Also known as futal and blind football, is an adaptation of football for athletes with visual impairments, including blindness. The sport, governed by the International football Sports Federation (IBSA), is played with modified FIFA rules.
- 7-a-side football: An adaptation of association football for athletes with cerebral palsy and other neurological disorders, including stroke and traumatic brain injury. The sport is governed by the Cerebral Palsy International Sports and Recreation Association (CP-ISRA).
- Wheelchair Football: A fast-paced sport that is best played when athletes are in maximum physical condition, and at the top of their game in teamwork, strategy and wheelchair-handling skills for both manual wheelchair and power wheelchair users.
- Wheelchair soccer: A variation of association football, in which all the participants are wheelchairs users due to physical disability. Intellectual disabilities can also be a factor, but this is not always the case. The wheelchairs can be either motorized, or manually pushed.
Players competing in 7-a-side football are given a sport class based on their level of disability.
- C5: Athletes with difficulties when walking and running, but not in standing or when kicking the ball.
- C6: Athletes with control and co-ordination problems of their upper limbs, especially when running.
- C7: Athletes with hemiplegia.
- C8: Minimally disabled athletes; they must meet eligibility criteria and have an obvious impairment that has impact on the sport of football.
Disability football is now available from local clubs to international tournaments and several of the international governing bodies now hold their World Cup finals, as in the non-disabled game. British Blind Sport runs the national 5-a-side football league for visually impaired players. It also hosts football development days throughout the country and an annual national school's tournament (for under 18's).
Various changes in the rules can take place to facilitate those who are playing and their impairments, but the intention is always to keep the game as close as possible to the standard, non-disabled sport.
How Can the Blind Play Football?
The principle is pretty simple. The ball is specially designed to produce sounds as it moves so that the players know where it is located. The goalkeepers have a special coach behind them, who tells them where they need to go, left or right.
According to many blind persons from birth, they became drawn to football because of the hype they feel around them when a match is played, and even though they cannot see a thing, they can relate to it. There are many countries, like Japan, France, Argentina, Spain, Brazil and England, that have organized associations of visually impaired or partially sighted footballers and since 2002, world championships have been held.
U.K. Football Association
The FA run both an England Partially Sighted team and an England Blind football team. These teams compete at the European Championships and the World Cup. The FA's regional Ability Counts leagues give CP players the opportunity to play regular competitive football, and progress to the England squad. Before 1999, The Football Association support for Disability Football was limited. Through the Technical Department, a Disabled Working Party was formed, chaired by Ted Copeland.
This group produced a booklet to assist coaches to work with players with learning difficulties and launched the preliminary soccer star test. This test was especially designed for use by players with a learning difficulty. Due to the plethora of organizations representing disabled people, The FA found it difficult to produce a coherent, all embracing strategy for disabled football.
Since the early days of the program, The FA has developed Ability Counts as its national activity program, ensuring disabled people have opportunities to play and train on a local level. Throughout England, players are participating in 54 clubs in season 05/06. The clubs are either Football in the Community schemes or Charter Standard Development or Community Clubs.
The FA is continuously committed to creating opportunities at all levels for anyone with a disability to get involved in football - whether as a player, referee, administrator, coach, or spectator. There's also a national network of county disability centers, specialist clubs and a structured pathway for individuals to realize their full potential. The FA also works closely with clubs at all levels to provide guidance and advice on welcoming disabled players and supporters - and to comply with current legislation.
British Blind Sport
British Blind Sport is a registered charity and the co-ordinating body of sport for the blind and partially sighted in the UK. BBS tries to encourage as many blind and partially sighted children and adults as possible to participate in sport at all levels. All the sports are run by subcommittees, staffed by visually impaired and sighted volunteers.
The Football Development Team are keen to support any club wishing to become more accessible to people with disabilities or wishing to establish a disability football team within the club.
Paralympics
Paralympic football consists of adaptations of the sport of association football for athletes with a disability. These sports are typically played using International Federation of Associated Football (FIFA) rules, with modifications to the field of play, equipment, numbers of players, and other rules as required to make the game suitable for the athletes.
The two most prominent versions of Paralympic football are Football 5-a-side, for athletes with visual impairments, and Football 7-a-side, for athletes with cerebral palsy.
Disability Soccer
Amputee soccer is played in over 30 countries around the world, the American Amputee Soccer Association is currently seeking Paralympic inclusion for the sport. The World Amputee Football Federation website can be found at worldamputeefootball.org
Subtopics
Latest Publications From Our Disability Football Information Category
1: Face Masks Linked to More Severe Impacts in NFL Players - Facemasks accounted for over half of the top 10% of head impacts experienced by players in the study, highlighting the importance of prioritizing new helmet designs.
2: Wembley Stadium Leads The Way For UK Accessible Stadiums - With the upcoming FA Cup Final and Champions League Final taking place at Wembley, we highlight the stadium's commitment to providing inclusive experiences for all fans.
3: EURO 2024: Top Football Stadiums with Best Accessibility - Ranking the most accessible stadiums for UEFA EURO 2024 in Germany using the percentrank method based on: wheelchair seating, accessible seating, toilets, parking, and services.
Complete Publications Database
Page Information, Citing and Disclaimer
Disabled World is a comprehensive online resource that provides information and news related to disabilities, assistive technologies, and accessibility issues. Founded in 2004 our website covers a wide range of topics, including disability rights, healthcare, education, employment, and independent living, with the goal of supporting the disability community and their families.
Cite This Page (APA): Disabled World. (Rev. 2023, December 13). Disability Football: 5 a Side, 7 a Side, Soccer. Disabled World. Retrieved November 9, 2024 from www.disabled-world.com/sports/football/
Permalink: <a href="https://www.disabled-world.com/sports/football/">Disability Football: 5 a Side, 7 a Side, Soccer</a>: Information regarding disability football, including soccer and 5 and 7 a side games.
Disabled World provides general information only. Materials presented are never meant to substitute for qualified professional medical care. Any 3rd party offering or advertising does not constitute an endorsement.