PARA SPORTS

CP Football

CP Football is an adaptation of Football 11 and was included in the Paralympic Games program in 1984; and in the Parapan American Games since Rio 2007.


This high intensity sport is practiced by men and women. The field of play, apart from the goals, is adapted. For the female competition, the field measurements are 40 m long by 27 m wide, while in the case of the male competition, the field is 70 m long by 50 m wide.

The teams are comprised of seven players on the field (including the goalkeeper) and seven on the bench. It is played in two halves of 30 minutes each, with a 15-minute break. Another rule is that there is no offside, and a throw-in is allowed from the line as it is usually done in conventional football, or roll the ball due to the impairment presented in certain athletes.

What is Cerebral Palsy?

"Cerebral" means brain-centered while "Palsy" represents partial or total loss of movement. Cerebral palsy is a disorder of movement and posture that occurs due to injury or malfunction of the developing brain. The Injury can occur before, during or after birth, it can be caused by various factors, such as lack of oxygen in the brain, infections during pregnancy, traumatic brain injury, among others.

This group can also include people who have an acquired cerebral injury: An acquired cerebral injury (ACI) is an injury caused in the brain since birth. There are several possible causes, such as a fall, a traffic accident, a tumour, or stroke.

Traumatic cerebral injury (TCI). Traumatic brain injuries are an acquired brain injury that is produced when a sudden trauma causes damages to the brain. They may happen when the head suddenly and violently hits an object, or when an object cuts the skull and sinks in the brain tissue. The symptoms of a TCI may be light, moderate, or severe, depending on the magnitude of the brain damage.

Sports Classification

The sports classification, in word of the International Paralympic Committee, is the cornerstone of the paralympic sports.

After the medical-technical evaluation process the Para athletes go through, they are assigned a “Sport Class”, information comprised by letter in the beginning that refer the sport and followed by a number that details the degree of disability. The higher the number (FT3), the disability is less severe, and when the number is lower (FT1) the degree of disability is higher.

The objective of the sports classification is to warrant that the development of the competition is fair between teams.

In CP Football, the team composition must always consider a class FT1 player and at most one FT3 player. The latter responds to the minimum parity conditions that must exist between the adversaries.

History

The first International CP Football competition was held in Edinburgh, Scotland, in 1978 at the third edition of the Cerebral Palsy International Games. CP Football was on the Paralympic Games sport programme from New York 1984 until Rio 2016. Brazil was the leading medal team from the Americas with 3 medals (silver at Athens 2004, and bronze at Rio 2016 and Sydney 2000).

CP football made its debut at the Parpan American Games in Rio de Janeiro in 2007. It was not held at the Guadalajara 2011 Games but has remained on the Parapan American Games sport programme since the Toronto 2015 Parapan American Games. Brazil is the leading medal team in the Parapan American Games, with 3 gold medals having defeated Argentina in the gold-silver medal match on each occasion. USA are the only team to have defeated Brazil in a round robin or knock-out match at the Lima 2019 Games.

How do you practice it?

It is a fast competition, with physical contact and played between two teams with seven players on the field and three substitutions. The ball is round and the rectangular field measures 70 m long and 50 m wide. The match is divided in two halves of 30 minutes each, with a ten-minute half-time between both of them. The objective is to score a goal in the contrary goalie, that measures 5 m wide and 2 m high.

One of its characteristics is that the offside is not penalized. Side throw-ins may be done with one hand rolling the ball into the field.

Quiz

How many players per team play in CP Football?

Check answer

Information for the community

Teletón is currently performing CP Football workshops in several institutes along the country, in Iquique, Santiago, Talca, Concepción, Temuco, and Puerto Montt, and teams are being created in Calama and Valparaíso.

These teams, along teams from the Pedro Aguirre Cerda National Rehabilitation Institute and Los Lobos del Bosque, have already participated in national championships and are getting ready for a National Team selection call.

The objective of CP Football team is to intensify the trainings and professionalize the discipline for international competitions.

In Santiago, the Teletón team trains in the Estación Central Multisport Building. They have players, in junior levels, that are between 6 to 13 years old. Then they are promoted to the stellar team, where there is no age limit.

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