France Crowned Football 5-a-Side European Champions

France upheld its reputation on the Football 5-a-Side pitch last weekend, as it won the IBSA European Futsal Championships in Askaray, Turkey, for the second successive time.

After winning the Championships in Nantes in 2009, France faced six-time champion Spain in this year’s final and came away with a 1-0 victory thanks to a goal by Frederic Villeroux.

With their top performances, France and Spain both booked their slots for the London 2012 Paralympic Games next year, where they will face stiff competition from defending Paralympic champions Brazil, Argentina and China, who are all powerhouses in the sport.

In other action at the European Championships, Great Britain defeated Turkey, 4-1, in the bronze-medal game.

In the fifth-place match, after a 0-0 score at the end of normal time, Russia beat Greece 2-1 on penalty kicks. In the seventh-place match, Italy beat Germany, 2-1.