 | |
| Highest governing body | World Amputee Football Federation (WAFF) |
|---|---|
| Characteristics | |
| Team members | 7 |
| Type | Team sport, ball sport |
| Equipment | Football (or soccer ball) |
Amputee football is a disabled sport played with seven players on each team (six outfield players and one goalkeeper). Outfield players have lower extremity amputations, and goalkeepers have an upper extremity amputation. Outfield players use loftstrand (forearm) crutches, and play without their prostheses.
The beginnings of Amputee football can be traced to Europe in the early 1900s. [1] The game which is played today, was created by Don Bennett, who was inspired from his accidental kick of a basketball on crutches in 1982. [2] In 1984 the first international amputee football tournament was held in Seattle. [2] With the help of soccer coach Bill Barry, beginning in 1985, Amputee Soccer International was established. [2] Through exhibition matches in the 1980s, the sport attracted media attention and gained popularity. [2]
In 2023, Marcin Oleksy from Warta Poznań, Poland became the first amputee footballer to win the FIFA Puskás Award for "most beautiful goal of the year" at The Best FIFA Football Awards 2022 ceremony. [3]
There are several amputee football associations around the world. A couple examples of this are the England Amputee Association and The Irish Amputee Football Association. [4] Each organization promotes the advancement of the sport and that it gains more recognition. The England Amputee Football Association states their main goal on their website as: "The England Amputee Football Association's aim is to provide all amputees, people with congenital limb deficiencies and persons with restricted use of limbs, with the opportunity to play football locally, nationally and internationally." [5]
51 nations in 2024: [6]
Source: 2022 [7]
| Year | Event | Host | Date | Gold | Silver | Bronze |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 | 1st Open European Championships |  Kyiv |  Brazil |  Russia |  Uzbekistan | |
| 2006 | Volgograd Open Championships | Volgograd | Sep 24 – 30 | Russia |  England | Uzbekistan |
| 2008 | European Amputee Football Championship |  Istanbul | Oct 2–10 | Russia | Turkey | England |
| 2017 | 6th Amp Futbol Cup |  Warsaw | Jun 24–25 | England | Poland |  Japan |
| 2024 | 1st African Para Games |  Accra | Sep 4–10 | Ghana |  Morocco |  Egypt |
The official FIFA sanctioned rules are: [8]
Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players each, who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is to score more goals than the opposing team by moving the ball beyond the goal line into a rectangular-framed goal defended by the opposing team. Traditionally, the game has been played over two 45-minute halves, for a total match time of 90 minutes. With an estimated 250 million players active in over 200 countries and territories, it is the world's most popular sport.
Paralympic football consists of adaptations of the sport of association football for athletes with a physical disability. These sports are typically played using International Federation of Association Football (FIFA) rules, with modifications to the field of play, equipment, numbers of players, and other rules as required to make the game suitable for the athletes.
Futsal is a football-based sport played on a hardcourt like a basketball court, smaller than a football pitch, and mainly indoors. It has similarities to five-a-side football and indoor football.
Indoor soccer or arena soccer is a five-a-side or six-a-side version of minifootball, derived from association football and adapted to be played in walled hardcourt indoor arena. Indoor soccer, as it is most often known in the United States and Canada, was originally developed in these two countries as a way to play soccer during the winter months, when snow would make outdoor play difficult. In those countries, gymnasiums are adapted for indoor soccer play. In other countries the game is played in either indoor or outdoor arenas surrounded by walls, and is referred to by different names.
The Laws of the Game are the codified rules of association football. The laws mention the number of players a team should have, the game length, the size of the field and ball, the type and nature of fouls that referees may penalise, the offside law, and many other laws that define the sport. During a match, it is the task of the referee to interpret and enforce the Laws of the Game.
Five-a-side football is a version of minifootball, in which each team fields five players. Other differences from association football include a smaller pitch, smaller goals, and a reduced game duration. Matches are played indoors, or outdoors on artificial grass pitches that may be enclosed within a barrier or "cage" to prevent the ball from leaving the playing area and keep the game constantly flowing.
Beach soccer, also known as beach football, sand football or beasal, is a variant of association football played on a beach or some form of sand.
A football pitch is the playing surface for the game of association football. Its dimensions and markings are defined by Law 1 of the Laws of the Game, "The Field of Play". The pitch is typically made of natural turf or artificial turf, although amateur and recreational teams often play on dirt fields. Artificial surfaces are allowed only to be green in colour.
In the sport of association football, fouls and misconduct are acts committed by players which are deemed by the referee to be unfair and are subsequently penalised. An offence may be a foul, misconduct or both depending on the nature of the offence and the circumstances in which it occurs. Fouls and misconduct are addressed in Law 12 of the Laws of the Game. A foul is an unfair act by a player, deemed by the referee to contravene the game's laws, that interferes with the active play of the match. Fouls are punished by the award of a free kick to the opposing team. A list of specific offences that can be fouls are detailed in Law 12 of the Laws of the Game ; these mostly concern unnecessarily aggressive physical play and the offence of handling the ball. An infringement is classified as a foul when it meets all the following conditions:
The goalkeeper is a position in association football. It is the most specialised position in the sport. The goalkeeper's main role is to stop the opposing team from scoring. This is accomplished by having the goalkeeper move into the trajectory of the ball to either catch it or direct it further from the vicinity of the goal line. Within the penalty area goalkeepers are allowed to use their hands, giving them the sole rights on the field to handle the ball. The goalkeeper is indicated by wearing a different coloured kit from their teammates and opposition.
Team Zaryen is a Haitian Amputee soccer team in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. Zaryen is the Creole word for Tarantula. The players give two answers when asked why the tarantula was chosen to represent the soccer team. First because when a tarantula attacks, it pursues its enemy slowly and is deadly with just one bite. A tarantula is a spider known to carry on despite the loss of a leg and with the ability to regrow a lost limb. Another reason for the team mascot is because the tarantula has so many legs, much like the appearance of the soccer players with their loftstrand (forearm) crutches.
Association football was first codified in 1863 in England, although games that involved the kicking of a ball were evident considerably earlier. A large number of football-related terms have since emerged to describe various aspects of the sport and its culture. The evolution of the sport has been mirrored by changes in this terminology over time. For instance, the role of an inside forward in variants of a 5–3–2 formation has many parallels to that of an attacking midfielder, although the positions are nonetheless distinct. Similarly, a 5–3–2 centre half can in many ways be compared to a holding midfielder in a 4–1–3–2.
Comparison of association football (football/soccer) and rugby union is possible because of the games' similarities and shared origins.
Oleksy is a Polish-language surname, a regional spelling variant of the given name "Aleksy", or Alexius.
Futsal began in the 1930s in South America as a version of association football, taking elements of its parent game into an indoor format so players could still play during inclement weather. Over the years, both sports have developed, creating a situation where the two sports share common traits while also hosting various differences.
A free kick is a method of restarting play in association football. It is awarded after an infringement of the laws by the opposing team.
Rahmi Özcan is a Turkish amputee footballer playing as a midfielder. He is a member of the Turkey national amputee football team.
Amputee football was first played in Turkey in 2003, the first nation-wide competition was held in 2004, and the first international participation took place the same year. The sport is governed by the Turkish Physically Disabled Sports Federation, and supported by the Turkish Football Federation.
TheBest FIFA Football Awards 2022 were held on 27 February 2023 in Paris, France.
Marcin Oleksy is a Polish amputee footballer, who plays as a forward for Warta Poznań and the Poland national amputee football team. He was the winner of the FIFA Puskás Award in 2022.
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