Sports of the Parapan American Games: Football 5-a-side

The sport made its first Parapan American appearance at Rio 2007, with Brazil winning that first competition as well as the two that followed. Football 5-a-side made its Paralympic debut at Athens 2004.

Football 5-a-side is a fast-paced sport for athletes with a vision impairment, and shows off their exceptional ability in dribbling, control and execution of powerful shots.

The field of play is smaller than the original football field, with boards on each side. Teams are made up of five players, including the goalkeeper who is the only sighted player on the team.

Teams commonly have a guide who is positioned off the field of play and behind the goal being attacked who assists in directing players towards the target. The ball is equipped with a noise-making device to allow players to locate it by sound.

The objective is to kick the ball down the field into the opposing team’s goal. The four on-field athletes wear eyeshades to ensure fairness. The goalkeeper, however, may be fully or partially sighted.

Matches are made up of two 25-minutes halves, with a 10-minute break between halves.