about GOALBALL

Goalball is unique to the Paralympic Games and exclusive to athletes with vision impairment. Matches are fast and tense, and players must score goals quickly. Athletes have a varying degree of vision impairment and all players wear blackout eye masks to equalise the level of vision.

Each team has six players, with three members playing at any one time on the same size court used for volleyball (18 metres long and 9 metres wide). Tactile markings help players determine where they are on the court. A ball with bells embedded inside allows athletes to hear where it is, and the crowd must be silent for the duration of play. Each match has two 12-minute halves.

In an attacking position, players throw the ball by hand, rolling it past their opponents to score. For a throw to count, the ball must bounce at least once in the thrower’s landing area for the shot to count. A bad throw or fault is punished by a penalty. Only one player can defend the goal by blocking the ball with his/her body. The goal stretches across the whole width of the floor (9m) making it especially difficult to defend. If a block is successful, players have 10 seconds to return the attack.

Teams take turns attacking and defending. The team that scores the most points or leads by 10 goals wins.

The International Blind Sport Federation (IBSA) governs goalball.

Goalball History

Goalball was developed by specialists from Austria and Germany in 1946 and began as an effort to support the rehabilitation process for veterans that were visually impaired during World War II.

Goalball made its breakthrough at the Heidelberg 1972 Paralympic Games where it featured as a demonstration sport. Four years later, it was officially added to the sports programme at the Toronto 1976 Paralympic Games as a men’s medal event. Women made their move into the Paralympics at the Stoke Mandeville & New York 1984 Paralympic Games.

Since 1976, the USA, Finland, and Denmark have been the most successful nations in the competition with each winning three gold medals. Today, the sport is played competitively in 112 countries.

At the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games, 96 athletes representing 12 nations competed in medal events.

DID YOU KNOW?

Turkiye became the first team to win three golds in a row in the women's competition at the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games.