Photo: IBSA Football 5-a-Side Subcommittee

Anyone who has tried to play football will tell you that it is not as easy as the professionals make it look. Add to it the fact that players cannot see the ball, their opponents or the goal and you have an extremely exciting game. Football 5-a-Side is open to athletes with a visual impairment, with the possibility of one sighted player as goalkeeper. There are five players per team and each game lasts 50 minutes. Rules are the same as Olympic football with certain modifications; the ball makes a noise when it moves, the goalkeepers may be sighted and act as guides during the game, the rest of the team uses eye patches and eyeshades, there are five players on a team rather than 11, the field of play measurements are smaller and there is no offside rule. The Football Subcommittee of the International Blind Sports Federation (IBSA) governs this sport, following modified rules of the International Federation of Associated Football (FIFA). It is practiced by athletes in 21 countries. Football 5-a-Side made its debut at the ATHENS 2004 Paralympic Games.

(Credit: IPC. Click here for further information.)