Australia men's national cerebral palsy soccer team

Last updated

Australia
Nickname(s) Pararoos
Association Football Australia
Confederation AFC (Asia)
Sub-confederation AFF (Southeast Asia)
Head coachKai Lammert
Captain David Barber
Most caps Christopher Pyne (104)
Top scorerDavid Barber (70)
FIFA code AUS
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First colours
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Second colours
Website www.pararoos.com.au

The Australia men's national cerebral palsy soccer team represents Australia in international 7-a-side (CP) competitions. Officially nicknamed the Pararoos, the team is currently controlled by the governing body for soccer in Australia, Football Australia (FA), which are a member of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) and the regional ASEAN Football Federation (AFF).

Contents

Since the team's foundation in 1998, they have represented Australia at the Paralympics on one occasion in 2000 and participated in nine IFCPF/CPISRA World Championships from 2001 to 2019. Australia achieved their highest result in their debut CPISRA campaign in 2001, beating the United States 1–0 to be positioned 5th out of the total 13 teams qualified. [1] The Pararoos are currently ranked 10th in the IFCPF rankings. [1]

The team consists of neurologically impaired athletes with ataxia, hypertonia or athetosis, playing a similar formatted game to Association Football, with smaller squads, fields and differing throw-in and offside rules. [2]

History

Foundation (1998)

Pararoos squad in training camp Pararoos.jpg
Pararoos squad in training camp

Following the introduction of 7-a-side football in the 1984 Summer Paralympic games, Australia lacked a governing body to oversee and funding to develop a Paralympic football team. [3] In 1998 the Cerebral Palsy Australian Sport & Recreation Federation (CPASRF) and the Australian Paralympic Committee (APC) collectively established a 7-aside football team in preparation for the countries home Sydney 2000 Paralympics. [4] The team managed by Cornelius Van Eldik and coached by both Russell Marriott and David Campbell lost all three games in the group stage of their debut Summer Paralympic campaign. [5]

In 2001, the team participated in their first Cerebral Palsy International Sports and Recreation Association (CPISRA) World Games, defeating both Belgium, Scotland and England to finish 2nd and 3rd in both group phases. The team went on to defeat the United States 1–0 to finish the tournament in 5th. [1] In 2005, an agreement was made between CPASRF and APC, to pass the control of the team to Football Australia (FA) who were the governing body of both the Australian men's and Australian women's football teams at the time. [4]

Paul Brown (2006 – 2013) era

Head Coach, Paul Brown Paul Brown Head Coach Pararoos.jpg
Head Coach, Paul Brown

In March 2006, Paul Brown and Kai Lammert were appointed as the head coach and assistant coach of the Paralympic team respectively. [6] This appointment was in preparation for the 2007 CPISRA World Championships, which was the qualifying event for the 2008 Beijing Paralympic games. The team finished 11th in the CPISRA championship rankings and subsequently failed to qualify for the Paralympic games, after heavy defeats from both England and Brazil. [1]

Following the team's poor performance in the championships, Brown travelled across Australia to help strengthen state programs, and monitor progress of players. Additionally, Brown conducting three national camps across the 12 months period prior to the 2011 CPISRA World Championships, which was the qualification event to the 2012 London Paralympic games. [7] Although defeating Spain 4–2, in the opening game of the 2011 CPISRA World Championships, the Pararoos lost to Brazil, Netherlands and England to finish in 11th place and subsequently did not qualify to the 2012 London Paralympic games. [1]

As part of the Australian Sport Commission's (ASC) introduction of the Winning Edge Policy on the 23 June 2014, the Pararoos' funding was cut by $175,000, [8] with the commission deciding that funding should be prioritised to sports that have the greatest chance of success. [9] Following this decision, head coach Paul Brown launched an online petition for the reinstation of the government funding, with over 82,000 individuals signing the change.org appeal. However, Matthew Favier the ASC Sport director at the time reiterated the commission's decision stating that the “ASC did not believe the team would qualify for Rio”. [10]

In January 2015, the governance of the sport was passed over from the CPISRA to the newly created International Federation of Cerebral Palsy Football (IFCPF) [1]. Paul Brown stepped down from his position as head coach in March 2015. [4]

Kai Lammert (2015 – present) era

Former assistant manager Kai Lammert was named as the new head coach of the Pararoos in March 2015. [4] During his first months within the job, Football Australia (FA) partnered with the Australian Sports Foundation (ASF) to develop a tax-deductible scheme to raise much needed funds to support the team, in preparation for future football tournaments. [11] With no funding being provided from ASC, the team was able to qualify and travel to Argentina for the inaugural 2017 IFCPF Championships, through crowd sourced funding. [11] The Pararoos ending up finish 10th following a 2–1 defeat to host country Argentina. [1]

In 2018, the team came 2nd in the IFCPF Asia-Oceania Championship after a 7–0 defeat to Iran in the final, to qualify for the renamed IFCPF World Cup in Spain. The Pararoos went on to finish 10th in the IFCPF World Cup, after a 4–2 loss to Canada. [1]

As part of the FIFA Forward 2.0 initiative in 2019, the FA received funding to help Australia's preparations for future international competitions. While also allowing the team to play their first official match in Australia since the 2000 Paralympic games. [12] The game took place on the 30 November 2019, at Cromer Park Sydney, against world number 12, Canada. [13] The Pararoos won the game 5–0, with almost 1200 fans in attendance, being a record for 7-a-side football outside of the Paralympic Games. [13] The game also broke the record for the highest merchandise spend per fan of any Australian national game over the 2019 calendar year. As part of the FIFA initiative 100% of the revenue made on the day was reinstalled into supporting the team. [13] The game also celebrated the 100th match for Pararoos captain David Barber, who holds the record for the most appearances for the Australian Paralympic team. [13]

Team Image

Colours

The Australian Paralympic soccer team uniform is traditionally the exact same as the Australian men's football team. This features a yellow jersey accompanied by yellow shorts and green socks. While alternatively for the away kit, the shirt and shorts are turquoise, and the socks are yellow. [4] The Australian kits have been supplied by Nike, since 2004. [14]

Sponsorship

PeriodKit ManufacturerShirt Sponsor
1998 - 2004 Adidas
2004 - 2017

Nike

2017-2019Zest Care [15]
2019 -2022

Nickname

The Australian Paralympic team's nickname, the “Pararoos” is used to informally refer to the team, in the media and in conversation. Similar to other Australian national representative sporting team nicknames, the term is a portmanteau word combining Paralympic and Kangaroo. [16]

Recent results and fixtures

2019

9 July 20192019 IFCPF World Cup Argentina  Flag of Argentina.svg1-4Flag of Australia (converted).svg  Australia Seville, Spain
17:00 AEST Report
11 July 20192019 IFCPF World Cup Australia  Flag of Australia (converted).svg2-0Flag of Spain.svg  Spain Seville, Spain
19:00 AEST Report
13 July 20192019 IFCPF World Cup Australia  Flag of Australia (converted).svg5-0Flag of Thailand.svg  Thailand Seville, Spain
17:00 AEST Report
16 July 20192019 IFCPF World Cup Australia  Flag of Australia (converted).svg1-2Flag of Germany.svg  Germany Seville, Spain
19:00 AEST Report
18 July 20192019 IFCPF World Cup Australia  Flag of Australia (converted).svg4-2Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg  Canada Seville, Spain
4:00 AEST Report
30 November 2019 Friendly Australia  Flag of Australia (converted).svg5-0Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg  Canada Sydney, Australia
17:30 AEST Report

2022

International competitions were cancelled throughout 2020 and 2021 as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. [17]

5 May 20222022 IFCPF World Cup Australia  Flag of Australia (converted).svg0-2Flag of Iran.svg  Iran Barcelona, Spain
23:30 AEST Report
7 May 20222022 IFCPF World Cup United States  Flag of the United States.svg5-1Flag of Australia (converted).svg  Australia Barcelona, Spain
20:30 AEST Report
10 May 20222022 IFCPF World Cup Australia  Flag of Australia (converted).svg3-3 (a.e.t.)
(4-5 p)
Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg  Canada Barcelona, Spain
20:30 AEST Report
13 May 20222022 IFCPF World Cup Germany  Flag of Germany.svg1-2Flag of Australia (converted).svg  Australia Barcelona, Spain
20:30 AEST Report

2023

31 January 2023 Closed Door Friendly Australia  Flag of Australia (converted).svg1-4Flag of the United States.svg  United States Sydney, Australia
10:30 AEST Lynch Soccerball shade.svg3' Report Stadium: Cromer Park
Attendance: Closed Door Friendly
Referee: Dale Edwards
2 February 2023 Closed Door Friendly Australia  Flag of Australia (converted).svg0-2Flag of the United States.svg  United States Sydney, Australia
10:30 AEST Report Stadium: Cromer Park
Attendance: Closed Door Friendly
Referee: Dale Edwards
4 February 2023 International Friendly Australia  Flag of Australia (converted).svg0-0Flag of the United States.svg  United States Sydney, Australia
15:00 AEST Report Stadium: Cromer Park
Attendance: 1,072
Referee: Wayne Crabb

Players

Caps and goals correct as of 17 May 2022. [18]

Cap No.PositionPlayerDate of birth (age)AppearancesGoalsDebut
49 GK Cosimo Cirillo18 May 2001 (age 20)41v. Flag of Iran.svg Iran 3 August 2016
2 GK, DF, MFChristopher Pyne3 May 1984 (age 38)10420v. Flag of the Netherlands.svg Netherlands 27 October 1999
1 DF David Barber ( captain )13 July (age 42)10170v. Flag of the Netherlands.svg Netherlands 27 October 1999
27 DF Ben Atkins26 June 1981 (age 30)728v. Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg Canada 31 May 2008
48 DF Alessandro La Verghetta6 January 2001 (age 21)72v. Flag of Iran.svg Iran 3 August 2016
51 DF, MF Taj Lynch15 November 2000 (age 21)161v. Flag of Ukraine.svg Ukraine 13 September
46 DF, MF Matthew Hearne2 July 1999 (age 22)212v. Flag of Spain.svg Spain 31 July 2016
54 DF, MF Bradley Scott15 April 1988 (age 34)31v. Flag of South Korea.svg Korea Republic 24 November 2018
44 MF Angus MacGregor13 June 1995 (age 26)121v. Flag of Russia.svg Russia 20 June 2015
53 MF Daniel Campbell25 January 2003 (age 19)62v. Flag of the United States.svg United States 19 July 2018
17 MF, FW Benjamin Roche21 November 1988 (age 33)5430v. Flag of Japan.svg Japan 29 June 2005
50 FW Benjamin Sutton8 May 1993 (age 29)41v. Flag of the United States.svg United States 11 September 2017
52 FW Augustine Murphy2 May 2000 (age 22)50v. Flag of the United States.svg United States 19 July 2018

Club Officials

Current technical staff

Updated as of 22 May 2022. [18]

PositionName
Head Coach Flag of Australia (converted).svg Kai Lammert
Assistant Coach Flag of Australia (converted).svg Goran Stajic
Assistant Coach Flag of Australia (converted).svg Tim Palmer
Goalkeeping Coach Flag of Australia (converted).svg Michael Harkness
Team Manager Flag of Australia (converted).svg Jay Phouisangiem

Managers

NamePeriodHonoursRef.
Flag of Australia (converted).svg Russell Marriott1998 - 2006 Summer Paralympic games qualification: 2000

Highest finish in CPISRA World Championships: 5th

[5]
Flag of Australia (converted).svg Paul Brown2006 - 2013Highest finish in CPISRA World Championships: 8th [6]
Flag of Australia (converted).svg Kai Lammert2013 -Highest finish in IFCPF World Championships: 10th [4]

Competitive results

Updated as of 22 May 2022. [1] [18]

Paralympic Games

Paralympic Games record
YearResultPositionPldWDLGFGA
Flag of the United States.svg 1984 did not participate
Flag of South Korea.svg 1988
Flag of Spain.svg 1992
Flag of the United States.svg 1996
Flag of Australia (converted).svg 2000 Group stage7th300308
Flag of Greece.svg 2004 did not qualify
Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg 2008
Flag of the United Kingdom.svg 2012
Flag of Brazil.svg 2016
Total0 Titles300308

CPISRA World Championships

CPISRA World Championships record
YearResultPositionPldWDLGFGA
Flag of England.svg 2001 5th - 6th Playoff5th7412128
Flag of Brazil.svg 2007 11th - 12th

Playoff

11th63031713
Flag of the Netherlands.svg 2009 7th - 8th

Playoff

8th6105842
Flag of the Netherlands.svg 2011 11th - 12th

Playoff

11th63031530
Flag of Spain.svg 2013 13th - 14th Playoff13th6204410
Total0 Titles311311756103

IFCPF CP Football World Championships

IFCPF CP Football World Championships record
YearResultPositionPldWDLGFGA
Flag of England.svg 2015 11th - 12th Playoff12th5113415
Flag of Argentina.svg 2017 9th - 10th Playoff10th6303819
Total0 Titles114161234

IFCPF Men's World Cup

IFCPF CP Football World Championships record
YearResultPositionPldWDLGFGA
Flag of Spain.svg 201911th - 12th Playoff11th63031315
Flag of Spain.svg 202211th - 12th Playoff11th4112611
Total0 Titles104151926

IFCPF Ranking

Updated as of 22 May 2022.

A line chart depicting the history of the Australian Paralympic soccer teams IFCPF ranking from 2015 - 2022

 Best Ranking   Worst Ranking   Best Mover   Worst Mover  

Australia Paralympic soccer team ranking
RankYearMoveRef.
 102022 [1]
102021 [1]
102020 [1]
 102019Increase2.svg 6 [1]
 162018Decrease2.svg 1 [19]
152017Decrease2.svg 1 [18]
 142016Decrease2.svg 4 [20]
102015 [21]
102014 [21]

ParaMatildas

ParaMatildas is the Australian national football team for women with cerebral palsy, acquired brain injury and symptoms of stroke. They won silver at the 2022 International Federation of Cerebral Palsy Football Women's World Cup, with USA winning in extra time. [22]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">United States men's national cerebral palsy soccer team</span>

The United States men's national CP soccer team, formerly known as the United States Para 7-a-side national team, represents the United States in men's CP football international competitions. It is operated by the United States Soccer Federation. The team finished seventh at the 2015 IPCPF World Championships. They have competed at several Paralympic Games, including the 1984, 1992, 1996, 2004 and 2012 editions. One of their best finishes was in 1996 when they finished fourth. Their head coach is Stuart Sharp. Comedian Josh Blue is one of their former players.

Iran national cerebral palsy football team is the national cerebral football team for Iran that represents the team in international competitions. The team did not compete at the 2015 IFCPF World Championships. At the 2011 World Championships, they finished second. In the country's three Paralympic appearances, they won bronze in 2008 and 2012, and finished fifth in 2004.

Singapore national cerebral palsy football team is the national cerebral football team for Singapore that represents the team in international competitions. Singapore has participated in a number of international tournaments, but never the Paralympic Games.

Spain national cerebral palsy football team is the national cerebral football team for Spain that represents the team in international competitions. The team has participated in the Paralympic Games and the IFCPF World Championships. Their best finish in their three Paralympic Games appearances was a bronze medal at the 1996 Summer Paralympics.

Germany national cerebral palsy football team is the national cerebral football team for Germany that represents the team in international competitions. The team has never participated at the Paralympic Games but has participated at several international tournaments.

Denmark national cerebral palsy football team is the national cerebral palsy football team for Denmark that represents the country in international competitions. The team has never participated in the Paralympic Games but has been involved in several international tournaments.

South Korea national cerebral palsy football team is the national cerebral football team for South Korea that represents the team in international competitions. The country has participated at the Asian Para Games, the IFCPF World Championships and the Paralympic Games. In their only appearance at the Paralympics, the finished fourth.

Japan national cerebral palsy football team is the national cerebral football team for Japan that represents the team in international competitions. The team has been active in recent years, and was ranked 16th in the world in 2016. At the 2015 IFCPF World Championships, they finished fifteenth. At the 2014 Asian Para Games, they finished second. Japan has never competed at the Paralympic Games.

Venezuela national cerebral palsy football team is the national cerebral football team for Venezuela that represents the team in international competitions. At the 2015 IFCPF World Championships, the team finished thirteenth in a fifteen deep field.

Canada national cerebral palsy football team is the national cerebral football team for Canada that represents the team in international competitions. Canada has participated in a number of international tournaments and IFCPF World Championships. In the most recent edition they finished 10th, after losing their placement match to Scotland in extra time. They have appeared in one Paralympic Games, 1984.

The Portugal national cerebral palsy football team represents Portugal in international competition. The team has appeared at four Paralympic Games, with their best finish being a silver medal at the 1992 Summer Paralympics in Barcelona. At the most recent IFCPF World Championships, the team finished 11, winning their placement match against Australia on penalty kicks.

Netherlands national cerebral palsy football team is the national cerebral football team for the Netherlands that represents the team in international competitions. The team has participated in every Paralympic Games since the sport made its debut in 1988, winning gold medals in 1988, 1992 and 1996. At the most recent IFCPF World Championships in 2015, they finished fourth. They had first-place finishes at the World Championships in 1986, 1990 and 1994.

Ireland national cerebral palsy football team is the national cerebral football team for Ireland that represents the team in international competitions. They have participated in several Paralympic Games and World Championships. They have won two bronze medals and a silver at the Paralympics. Their best finish at the World Championships was first at the 1982 edition in Denmark.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Argentina national cerebral palsy football team</span>

The Argentina national cerebral palsy football team is the national football team that represents Argentina in international competitions. The team is managed by the "Argentine Cerebral Palsy Football Federation" Spanish: Federación Argentina de Fútbol de Parálisis Cerebral (FAFPC). Their best world ranking sixth and their lowest was ninth. Argentina has competed at both the IFCPF World Championships and the Paralympic Games, but has never finished in the medals in either event.

Brazil national cerebral palsy football team is the national cerebral football team for Brazil that represents the team in international competitions. The team has been active internationally, and was ranked third in the world in 2016. At the 2015 IFCPF World Championships, they came away with a bronze. This was an improvement on 2011 when they finished fourth. Their best ever finish was second at the 2003 World Championships. Appearing at multiple Paralympic Games, Brazil won silver in 2004 and bronze in 2008.

Russia national cerebral palsy football team is the national cerebral football team for Russia that represents the team in international competitions. The team has participated at multiple Paralympic Games, winning gold in the 2000 and 2012 editions. Russia won the IFCPF World Championships in 1998, 2007, 2011 and 2015.

Ukraine national cerebral palsy football team is the national cerebral football team for Ukraine that represents the team in international competitions. The country has appeared at the Paralympic Games in 2000, 2004, 2008 and 2012 where they have medaled each time. At the 2015 IFCPF World Championships, Ukraine finished second. This bettered the 2011 edition where they finished third.

Great Britain national cerebral palsy football team is the national cerebral football team for Great Britain that represents the team in international competitions, but primarily the Paralympic Games. They compete at the 1984, 1992, 2008 and 2012 Summer Paralympics. Their best performance was in 1984 when they won the bronze medal.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">International Federation of Cerebral Palsy Football</span> World governing body for cerebral palsy football

The International Federation of Cerebral Palsy Football (IFCPF) is the world governing body for cerebral palsy football. It was founded in January 2015, when the governance of the sport transferred from the Cerebral Palsy International Sports and Recreation Association (CPISRA) to the IFCPF. It is a member organization, with members from five different continental zones. The IFCPF has relationships with other international association football sporting bodies. It organizes tournaments for the sport, and is in charge of Paralympic Games inclusion and participation. The IFCPF is a World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) signatory, and international footballers may be subject to out-of-competition doping controls.

Cerebral Palsy Football, also called 7-a-side football or formerly Paralympic Football, is an adaptation of association football for athletes with cerebral palsy and other neurological disorders, including stroke and traumatic brain injury. From 1978 to 2014, cerebral palsy football was governed by the Cerebral Palsy International Sports and Recreation Association (CPISRA). In January 2015, governance of the sport was taken over by the International Federation of Cerebral Palsy Football, under the umbrella of Para Football.

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