Powerchair football
Two teams of four players use powerchairs equipped with footguards to attack, defend, and spin-kick a 13-inch (330 mm) football in an attempt to score goals.
Canada devised a similar game called power soccer independently from France, which eventually spread to Japan.
[1][3] While most programs played without knowledge of each other, US soccer coach David Ruelas met with the sports' French director Herve Delattre after discovering the European version of the game while in Belgium in 2004.
In January 2005, 24 representatives from 7 nations (France, United States, Canada, Japan, England, Belgium, and Portugal) met in Le Chesnay, France, to lay the foundation for forming the International Powerchair Football Association (IPFA).
Their most critical objective was unifying the different rulesets present in North America, France, England, and Japan.
Nine months later a second meeting was held in Coimbra, Portugal (with the inclusion of Denmark) to finalize a standardized set of rules for international play.
[1][2] During this same timeframe the United States Power Soccer Association (USPSA) was formed with headquarters in Carmel, Indiana.
Since then, numerous powerchair associations have formed and the number of teams competing within FIPFA worldwide is estimated at over 250.
[4] FIPFA has submitted numerous bids to the IPC in an effort to be selected as a new sport at the Paralympic Games.
The two distinct differences in the laws from the able bodied game are:[10] In the case of either of these infractions (2-on-1 or 3-in-the-area), the referee may refrain from making a call if the player in question is not affecting the play (similar to the concept of offside in traditional association football).
[10] FIPFA has an international classification system that ranks players according to their respective physical and psychological abilities.
[14] FIPFA (Fédération Internationale de Powerchair Football Association) was established in 2006 to govern the sport and is headquartered in Paris, France.
[15] The final was played on 13 October, with the United States beating France in a penalty shootout after drawing 1-1 during regulation and extra time.
[2][27] Atlanta Synergy also won the 2010 Americas Champions Cup defeating Tampa Thunder 4–0 in the final and confirming an undefeated run at the tournament in Burnaby, Canada.
The national teams of Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Uruguay, the United States, and Australia played for the Americas championship.
The United States, Canada, Argentina, Brazil and Uruguay participated with the top three qualifying.
The event was held at the University of Limerick in Ireland, with the top five teams qualifying for the 2017 FIPFA World Cup.
[30][31][32] In October 2016, an EPFA Champions Cup was held in Hou, Denmark between ten club teams.
[36] Seven nations (Austria, Denmark, England, Finland, France, Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland) from across Europe competed to become Europe's top ranked national team and qualify for five available slots in the 2022 FIPFA World Cup.
