Football 5-a-side
Anyone who has tried to play Football will tell you that it is not as easy as the professionals make it look. Add to it the fact that players cannot see the ball, their opponents or the goal and you have an extremely exciting game. Football 5-a-Side is open to athletes with a visual impairment, with the possibility of one sighted player as the goalkeeper.
There are five players per team and each game lasts 50 minutes. Rules are the same as in able-bodied Football with certain modifications; the ball makes a noise when it moves, the goalkeepers may be sighted and act as guides during the game, the rest of the team uses eye shades to ensure fairness, there are five players on a team rather than 11, the field of play measurements are smaller and there is no offside rule. The game consists of two halves of 25 minutes each.
The Football Subcommittee of the International Blind Sports Federation (IBSA) governs this sport, following modified rules of the International Federation of Associated Football (FIFA). In 2009, it is practiced by athletes in more than 30 countries. The first national Football 5-a-Side Championships took place in Spain in 1986. Since then the sport has developed rapidly around the world and made its debut at the ATHENS 2004 Paralympic Games.
For more detailed information on Football 5-a-Side, please visit the IBSA website at www.ibsa.es.
