Groups drawn for football 5 and 7 at Sao Paulo 2017

The groups for the football 5 and football 7 competitions at the Sao Paulo 2017 Youth Parapan American Games were drawn on Friday (10 March).

Mexico versus Colombia will kick off the football 5 event, followed by Argentina against Brazil. The tournament will have a round robin format, with the top two teams from the group-stage qualifying for the gold-medal match and the two others playing for bronze.

The event, which will feature players aged 14-20 years old, will start on 21 March and run until 24 March. The football 5 pitch is located beside the judo mat at the Brazilian Paralympic Centre.

Football 7

In the football 7 competition, Argentina will face Venezuela and Panama in Group A, whilst Brazil was drawn with Colombia in Group B.

In each pool, a single round robin system will be used. The top teams from each group will qualify for the semi-finals and face the second-placed team from the other group.

The winners will advance into the final, with the other two playing for the bronze.

The bottom teams of each group will play for the fifth place.

The event will feature 14 to 20-year-old players, although only three aged 19 or 20 years are permitted on each team, and will take place in the pitch situated adjacent to the athletics track at the Brazilian Paralympic Centre.

Around 900 athletes, aged 12-20 years old, from 20 countries are expected to participate in Sao Paulo 2017 from 20-25 March, with 12 sports being contested: athletics, boccia, football 5, football 7, goalball, judo, powerlifting, sitting volleyball, swimming, table tennis, wheelchair basketball and wheelchair tennis.

Buenos Aires 2013 attracted more than 600 athletes from 16 countries, who competed across 10 sports. Brazil topped the medal table and 15 countries reached the podium at least once.

Barquisimeto, Venezuela, staged the inaugural edition in 2005, with athletes from 10 countries competing, whilst a total of 14 countries attended the event in Bogota, Colombia, in 2009.

For more information, visit Sao Paulo 2017’s website.