Draw made for Football 5-a-side Euros

Sir Philip Craven, President of the IPC, made the draw for the competition which will take place in August 2015 10 Nov 2014

Team Great Britain marching onto the field led by their goalkeeper in the Football 5-a-side during the London 2012 Paralympic Games.

Team Great Britain - Football 5-a-side - London 2012 Paralympic Games

Ⓒwww.photo-hartmann.de

By The Royal National College for the Blind

The English Football Association recently announced an additional GBP 1 million of funding for football 5-a-side over the next two years, and it is hoped that the team is in a strong position to qualify for the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games.

Sir Philip Craven, President of the IPC, has made the draw for the International Blind Sport Association (IBSA) Blind Football European Championships 2015, that will take place at The Royal National College for the Blind (RNC) in Hereford, Great Britain, between 22-29 August.

Group A sees hosts England drawn against Turkey, Germany, Italy and newcomers Poland.

Reigning European champions Spain have been drawn in Group B and are joined by France, Russia, Greece and tournament first-timers Belgium.

“It’s a similar group to the last Euros we played in and we certainly have some old scores to settle,” said Jon Pugh, Head Coach of the England football 5-a-side team.

“In football, England and Germany share a great rivalry; however they’re an up and coming team that we should beat.”

Accompanying Sir Philip for the draw was Tony Larkin, Director at RNC and former Head Coach of England and Team GB football 5-a-side squads, and Jeff Davis, Head of Disability Sport at the FA and IBSA representative.

The English Football Association recently announced an additional GBP 1 million of funding for football 5-a-side over the next two years, and it is hoped that the team is in a strong position to qualify for the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games.

“When I was young, there were no pathways to play for school, club or country; there has been a lot of effort gone into creating blind football as a formidable sport,” said Dave Clarke, former England and Team GB blind football captain.

“What is important is what we do now. It’s vital that not just Hereford but the whole country gets behind the Euros in 2015. Let’s give our own team a fantastic chance of winning not just this tournament but also the Paralympics in Rio.”

For more information, visit the IBSA Blind Football European Championships 2015 website.