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

The two most prominent versions of Paralympic football are 5-a-side football for athletes with visual impairments, and 7-a-side football for athletes with cerebral palsy.

Blind football (5-a-side)

5-a-side football, also known as blind futsal and blind football, is an adaptation of football for athletes with visual impairments including blindness. The sport, governed by the International Blind Sports Federation (IBSA), is played with modified FIFA rules. The field of play is smaller, and is surrounded by boards. Teams are reduced to five players, including the goalkeeper, per team. Teams may also use one guide, who is positioned off the field of play, to assist in directing players. The ball is equipped with a noise-making device to allow players to locate it by sound. Matches consist of two 20-minute halves, with a ten-minute break at half-time.

Brazil vs. Argentina in the Final of the Football for 5 at the 2007 Parapan American Games in Rio de Janeiro

Football 5-a-side players are assigned to one of three sport classes based on their level of visual impairment:

• B1 - Totally or almost totally blind; from no light perception up to light perception but inability to recognise the shape of a hand.
• B2 - Partially sighted; able to recognise the shape of a hand up to a visual acuity of 2/60 or a visual field of less than 5 degrees.
• B3 - Partially sighted; visual acuity from 2/60 to 6/60 or visual field from 5 to 20 degrees

Teams are permitted to use sighted athletes as goalkeepers and guides; sighted goalkeepers cannot have been registered with FIFA for at least five years.

Two types of competition exist. For Class B1 games, only athletes with sport class B1 are permitted as players, with the exception of the goalkeepers and the guides, who may be class B2, B3, or sighted. For Class B2/B3 games, teams can field players in sport classes B2 and B3; at least two B2 players must be on the field at all times.

5-a-side football in Europe was developed in Spain. The first Spanish national championships took place in Spain in 1986. In South America, there are records of a Brazilian Tournament organized in 1980. European and American Championships took place in 1997, followed by the first World Championships in 1998. The sport was added to the Summer Paralympic Games in 2004.

IBSA Blind Football World Championships^[1]

Main article: World Blind Football Championships

Men's B1

Year	Venue		Winners	Score	Runners-up		Third place	Score	Fourth place		Number of teams
1998 Details	Campinas		Brazil	1–0	Argentina		Spain	2–0	Colombia		6
2000 Details	Jerez		Brazil	3–0	Argentina		Spain	4–0	Greece		8
2002 Details	Rio de Janeiro		Argentina	4–2	Spain		Brazil	2–0	Colombia		9
2006 Details	Buenos Aires		Argentina	1–0	Brazil		Paraguay	2–1	Spain		8
2010 Details	Hereford		Brazil	2–0	Spain		China	1–0	England		10
2014 Details	Tokyo		Brazil	1–0	Argentina		Spain	0–0 (pen. 2–0)	China		12
2018 Details	Madrid		Brazil	2–0	Argentina		China	2–1	Russia		16

Men's B2/B3

Year	Venue		Winners	Score	Runners-up		Third place	Score	Fourth place		Number of teams
1998 Details	Campinas		Belarus	3–2	Spain		Italy	9–2	Argentina		6
2002 Details	Varese		Belarus	14–2	Russia		Spain	3–2	Brazil		12
2013 Details	Miyagi		Russia	1–0 (aet)	Ukraine		England	14–0	Japan		4
2017 Details	Cagliari		Ukraine	3–0	England		Russia	2–2 (pen. 2–1)	Spain		8

Blind Football at the IBSA World Games

Main article: IBSA World Games

Men's B1

Year	Venue		Winners	Score	Runners-up		Third place	Score	Fourth place		Number of teams
2007 Details	São Paulo		Brazil	2–0	Argentina		Spain	0–0(1-0 in Penalty)	Japan		4
2011 Details	Antalya		Iran	3–0	France		China	3–0	England		7
2015 Details	Seoul		Argentina	2–1	United Kingdom		Spain	1–0	China		9

Men's B2/B3

Year	Venue		Winners	Score	Runners-up		Third place	Score	Fourth place		Number of teams
2007 Details	São Paulo		Belarus	1–1(3-2 in Penalty)	Ukraine		Spain	4–0	Brazil		4
2011 Details	Antalya		Belarus	5–1	Ukraine		Spain	7–4	England		9
2015 Details	Seoul		Ukraine	3–1	Spain		Italy	2–1	Japan		5

IBSA Blind Football Asian Championships

Main article: IBSA Blind Football Asian Championships

Until 2017 only in Men's B1 (not Women's and not Men's B2/B3)

Year	Venue		Winners	Score	Runners-up		Third place	Score	Fourth place		Number of teams
2005 Details	Ho Chi Minh City		Japan	Round Robin	South Korea		Vietnam	Round Robin	none		3
2007 Details	Seoul		China	3–0	South Korea		Iran	1–0	Japan		4
2009 Details	Tokyo		China	2–0	Japan		South Korea	0–0 (1-0 in Penalty)	Iran		5
2011 Details	Sendai		China	1–0	Iran		Japan	2–0	South Korea		4
2013 Details	Beijing		China	0–0 (3-2 in Penalty)	Japan		South Korea	Round Robin	none		3
2015 Details	Tokyo		Iran	0–0 (1-0 in Penalty)	China		South Korea	0–0 (2-1 in Penalty)	Japan		6
2017 Details	Kuala Lumpur		China	2–0	Iran		Thailand	2–0	South Korea		6

Blind Football at the Asian Para Games

Until 2014 only in Men's B1 (not Women's and not Men's B2/B3)

Year	Venue		Winners	Score	Runners-up		Third place	Score	Fourth place		Number of teams
2010 Details	Guangzhou		China	1–0	Iran		South Korea	0–0 (2-1 in Penalty)	Japan		5
2014 Details	Incheon		Iran	Round Robin	Japan		China	Round Robin	South Korea		5

Cerebral palsy football (7-a-side)

7-a-side football is 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). The sport is played with modified FIFA rules. Among the modifications are a reduced field of play, a reduction in the number of players, elimination of the offside rule, and permission for one-handed throw-ins. Matches consist of two thirty-minute halves, with a fifteen-minute half-time break.

Players competing in 7-a-side football are given a sport class based on their level of disability. Eligible classes are:

• 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.

Teams must field at least one class C5 or C6 player at all times. No more than one players of class C8 are permitted to play at the same time.

International competition in 7-a-side football began at the 1978 CP-ISRA International Games in Edinburgh, Scotland. The sport was added to the Summer Paralympic Games at the 1984 Summer Paralympics in New York City, U.S., and has been played at every Summer Games until 2016 Summer Paralympics.

World CP Football Championships

Year	Host		Winner	Score	Runner-up		Third place	Score	Fourth place		Number of teams		Ref.
CPISRA tournaments
1990 Details	Assen (WC)	Netherlands	5–0	Ireland	Belgium	no information available2		5	[2][3]
1994 Details	Dublin (WC)	Netherlands	2–0	Ireland	Belgium	3	Spain		[2][3]
1998 Details	Rio de Janeiro (WC)	Russia	3–1	Ukraine	Brazil	3–2	Spain	11	[2]
2003 Details	Buenos Aires (WC)	Ukraine	3–1	Brazil	Russia	2–1	Argentina		[2]
2007 Details	Rio de Janeiro (WC)	Russia	2–1	Iran	Ukraine	2–0	Brazil	16	[2][4]
2011 Details	Assen, Emmen, Hoogeveen (WC)	Russia	6–1	Iran	Ukraine	8–3	Brazil	16	[2][5]
IFCPF tournaments
2015 Details	Burton-upon-Trent (WC)	Russia	1–0	Ukraine	Brazil	6–0	Netherlands	16	[2][6]
2017 Details	San Luis (WC)	Ukraine	1–0	Iran	Russia	2–0	England	16	[7]
2019 Details	Seville (Cup)	Russia	3–1	Ukraine	Brazil	4–1	England	16	[8]
2022 Details	Salou (Cup)	Ukraine	1–0	Iran	Brazil	2–0	United States	15	[9][10]

2 = There is no information on the homepage of the IFCPF

3 = no score found

• a.e.t.: after extra time
• p: after penalty shoot-out

References