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The IBSA’s Football
Let’s talk football, shall we? This sport was the first to be introduced to the IBSA World Games competition. The five-a-side football is part and parcel of the Paralympic Sports. Therefore, as we have told you throughout our website, this sport was the first one among three to be cleared to be added to the IBSA’s sports. We have decided to introduce you to the five-a-side football. Therefore, you will benefit from a short introduction to the sport, as well as a paragraph related to the game’s rules. We will finish with a list of the latest winners throughout the four IBSA World Games editions.
The five-a-side football
For those of you who are not huge football fans, let us tell you a little bit more about the five-a-side football experience! The football that you usually see on television is an 11-a-side type of football, ten players and a goalie. However, for this five-a-side football, you will find four players and one goalie on the field. You will have fewer players, but the intensity will be just the same! Each team chooses its formation, and go against each other. In the next paragraph, we will tell you more about the specific rules to the five-a-side football, for you to have a better understanding of the actual game.
The rules
Most of the five-a-side football rules remain the same as the classic 11-a-side football, with a few twists! We have already told you that you will have 5 players (four players and one goalie) on the field instead of 11. The match goes for two sets of twenty-five minutes, instead of two periods of forty-five minutes. During the game, the players will be allowed to play using the walls surrounding the field. The goalie is not allowed to step out of his zone, and is not allowed to kick the ball with his foot. The players are not allowed to tackle or perform any aggressive play. If you are familiar with regular football, you may have noticed that the rules differ quite a bit; yet, they are completely adapted to the IBSA World Games.
The latest champions
The five-a-side football is known as a B1 football in the IBSA World Games. Following its debut in the competition, the sport has attracted more and more athletes. Indeed, the number of teams rose from six to eight. These days, eight teams go head-to-head in championships before obtaining their tickets to the IBSA World Games. During the latest five-a-side football Paralympic tournament, the final opposed France to Brazil. The South American team won the final and the gold medal, beating France 2-0 during the final. Also, did you know that blind football was enjoying a great amount of support from the UEFA in championships taking place throughout Europe?
