Sports Summary
Football (5-a-side) has been officially part of the Paralympic program since the Athens 2004 Paralympic Games. The sport is played by athletes with vision impairment with five players on each side.
There are five players per team and each game lasts 50 minutes. Rules are the same as in able-bodied Football with certain modifications; the ball makes a noise when it moves, the goalkeepers may be sighted and act as guides during the game, the rest of the team uses eye shades to ensure fairness, there are five players on a team rather than 11, the field of play measurements are smaller and there is no offside rule. The game consists of two halves of 25 minutes each.
All team members except for the goalkeeper play with eye shades to ensure fairness and orientate themselves by listening to the ball, which makes noise when it moves. The goalkeeper may be sighted and act as a guide during the game. The field is smaller than regular football and there are no offside rulings.
The Football Subcommittee of the International Blind Sports Federation (IBSA) governs this sport, following modified rules of the International Federation of Associated Football (FIFA).
