Paris 2024: Introduction to goalball

Goalball has featured at every Paralympics since its debut at Toronto 1976 22 Apr 2024

A male goalball player rolls the blue goalball in front of his net.

Goalball is one of the only two sports in the Paris 2024 Paralympic programme without an Olympic counterpart.

ⒸJoe Toth/ OIS

By IPC

Welcome to week 9 of Paris 2024 Sport Weeks! This week, everything you need to know about goalball. Goalball is a fast and tense sport, played exclusively by athletes with vision impairment.

Goalball is one of the two sports in the Paris 2024 sports programme without an Olympic counterpart. Paris 2024 will feature eight teams, including hosts France, each in both the men’s and women’s tournaments.

Brief history of goalball

The sport was invented in 1946 to help rehabilitate veterans who had lost their eyesight during the World War II. Hanz Lorenzen of Austria and Sepp Reindle of Germany are credited with inventing a game.

Goalball made its Paralympic debut in Toronto, Canada, in 1976, with the women’s event being added in 1984. Austria earned the first Paralympic gold medal in Toronto, with West Germany taking silver and Denmark bronze.

The USA won the first women’s event at the Paralympic Games in 1984, beating Canada in the final in New York. The US men’s team also topped the podium.

goalball tokyo 2020 — Each team has six players, with three athletes playing at a given time. @Getty Images

What to watch in goalball

Goalball is a dynamic team sport. Matches are fast and tense, and athletes must score goals quickly and defend shots with their bodies.

Each team has six players, with three members playing at any one time. Athletes have a varying degree of vision impairment, and they wear blackout eye masks during matches.

Each match has two 12-minute halves. The 9-meter goal spans the width of the court, and the court lines are slightly raised so athletes can feel their positions.

a hand with tape on the fingers touches the white line on a court — Goalball players use their hands to feel the lines of the court @Simon Bruty/OIS

The objective of goalball is to score points by throwing a ball containing bells past the opponents and into their net. The crowd must be silent so athletes can hear where the ball is.

In an attacking position, athletes can bounce, curve or spin the ball past their opponents. For a throw to count, the ball must touch the floor on the technical area first and then on the neutral area of the court.

Goalball player Sevda Altunoluk stands and throws the ball — Athletes can bounce, curve or spin the ball past their opponents. @Simon Bruty/ OIS

A bad throw or fault is punished by penalty. This player must defend the goal alone.

Goalball requires toughness because the only way for athletes to defend the goal is by blocking the ball with their bodies. If their block is successful, they have 10 seconds to return the attack.

The team that scores the most points or leads by 10 goals wins.

Josemarcio Sousa blocks the ball from going into the net — Brazil defeated China 7-2 in the men's final at Tokyo 2020. @OIS/Simon Bruty

Memorable Paralympic moments

The USA place atop the all-time Paralympic medals table with three golds, six silver and three bronze, followed by Finland (three gold and two silver) and Denmark (three gold, one silver and three bronze).

The Chinese men’s team pulled off a stunning comeback at Beijing 2008. With only 30 minutes to go in the final, China were trailing 6-4 to Lithuania but scored three goals to steal the win, 9-8.

Six male goalball players celebrate on the podium by raising their hands. — China won their first goalball gold medal at a home Games. @Guang Niu/Getty Images

In the women’s final at Beijing 2008, the lead changed hands five times between the USA and China. With less than a minute left in the game, Asya Miller scored the winning goal for Team USA.

At Rio 2016, Turkiye’s women’s team had an impressive Paralympic debut. They scored 67 goals and only conceded 18 en route to winning gold in the Brazilian city.

About 10 goalball players and staff high fives with the crowd after winning the Rio 2016 women's goalball competition. — Turkey won the women's goalball competition in their Paralympic debut at Rio 2016. Anthony Edgar/ OIS

After finishing with silver at Sydney 2000 and Beijing 2008, Lithuania beat the USA in the men’s final to secure their first gold medal.

Five years later, Turkiye defended their title in the women’s event. Sevda Altunoluk led the team, scoring all nine goals in Turkiye’s 9-2 win over the United States in the final. Brazil captured their first gold in the men’s event.

Paris 2024 programme

Paris 2024 will feature the men’s and women’s competitions.

The preliminary stage will start on 29 August, and the medal games will take place on 8 September.

Paris 2024 venue

Goalball will be staged at South Paris Arena along with Para table tennis and boccia. The venue is located within Paris Expo, an exhibition and convention centre that welcomes 7.5 million visitors a year.