ABSTRACT
As a result of the successful integration of disability soccer into the infrastructure of the Football Association (FA), participation in disability soccer has increased in England by 28,000 players in just five years (The FA, 2010). Currently, the FA operates seven international disability squads, each with a specific impairment (amputation, blind, cerebral palsy, deaf and hearing impaired [male and female], learning disability and visual impairment [partially sighted]). It has been over 30 years since amputee soccer competitions were initially established, yet they are not currently part of the Paralympic programme. In terms of the history of the Paralympic Games, the 7-a-side game for athletes with cerebral palsy (CP) and the 5-a-side soccer which is open to athletes with a visual impairment (VI) have been part of the Paralympic programme since the New York/Stoke Mandeville Games in 1984 and Athens 2004, respectively. It is beyond the scope of this chapter to discuss all the six international disability soccer divisions. In this chapter we attempt to raise awareness of soccer for persons with a disability. We highlight the available literature on the topic of disability soccer and then focus on the 7-a-side cerebral palsy (CP) game and 5-a-side Futsal Blind (B1) game so as to enable the reader to understand how to apply their soccer knowledge to special populations with specific issues and needs.
