Learn About Sports

Seven-a-side football was introduced to the Paralympic program in New York, USA, in 1984. This sport is played by seven athletes with cerebral palsy. Athletes compete in two thirty-minute halves and attempt to score goals by kicking or heading the ball into the opposing team’s net.

Each team has a goalie, and the goalie is the only player on the field that is allowed to touch the ball with their hands within a designated area. The team with the most goals at the end of the game wins. If the game is tied at the end of regulation time in the semi-finals or finals, two ten-minute sudden-death overtime periods are played. If the game is still tied at the end of overtime, a penalty kick competition determines a winner.

Athletes are classified based on the Cerebral Palsy International Sports and Recreation Association (CP-ISRA) classification system.

Athletes with a C5, C6, C7 or C8 ranking are eligible to play, and there must be at least one C5 or C6 athlete on the field at all times or the team must play with only six players. In addition, no more than three C8 players are permitted to be on the field at one time.

Paralympic football is played on a smaller field (75m long by 55m wide) with smaller goals (5m wide by 2m high) than traditional soccer. In addition, there are no offside penalties and throw-ins can be made with one arm. Upon leaving the thrower’s hand, the ball must immediately touch the ground within the field of play.

At the Paralympic Games, when throwing or kicking the ball back into play, goalkeepers may take no more than four steps before releasing the ball. Additionally, players are not permitted to return the ball back to the goalkeeper until it leaves the goal area. If either of these rules is violated, an indirect free kick is awarded to the opposing team at the place where the penalty occurred. No disability-specific equipment is included in competition.