CP football is an adapted sport for people with cerebral palsy who love to participate in the world’s most popular CP sport as others. CP football is also called cerebral palsy football, 7-a-side football, or Paralympic football. The first International CP football competition was held in Edinburgh, Scotland, in 1978 at the third edition of the Cerebral Palsy International Games. In January 2015, CP Football’s governance was transferred from CPISRA to the new governing body, the International Federation of Cerebral Palsy Football (IFCPF). This sport plays at clubs, regional, national, and international levels. This sport is two halves of 30 minutes’ game with seven players on each team.
Who can take part?
CP football is a recreational activity and a team-game for people with Cerebral Palsy or neurological disorders like traumatic brain injury or stroke.
How is the game field?
- The dimension of the field is based on the accompanying plan.
- The area should not be more than 75m x 55m and not less than 70 x50m.
- The surface of the field can be grass or artificial football turf.
What about the players?
- Each team includes seven players.
- Up to 3 substitutes are permitted in each team in every complete game
- The football classes are limited to C5, C6, C7, and C8
- Each team must field at least one class C5 or C6 player at all times; if not, the team plays with one less player
- During a game, each team may have one class C8 player.
- If the class C8 player is missed, the team is not allowed to replace the player.
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The match rules
The rules are based on the FIFA laws, IFAB Laws of the Game, IFCPF Modifications to the Game, IFCPF Competition Rules. These rules include a smaller pitch, each team with seven players, no offside law, the match with two 15-minutes halves, etc.
CP football Classifications
Ataxia, Hypertonia, Athetosis-three impairment are the most expected athletes’ neurological impairments, which can cause motor control impairments of a cerebral nature. These impairments can cause permanent or verifiable Activity Limitations. CP football classification’s goal is to ensure that the balance in both teams is relatively the same. There must be at least one FT1 player in each team, and the team is not permitted to have more than one FT3 player on the field at a time.
FT1
This classification refers to those people with the most severe impairment.
FT2
This class refers to the players with moderate impairment.
FT3
This classification is for those players with minimal impairment
Or the other classification is:
FT5: Athletes with difficulties when walking and running, but not in standing or when kicking the ball
FT6: Athletes with control and coordination problems of their upper limbs, especially when running.
FT7: Athletes with hemiplegia
FT8: Minimally disabled athletes; must meet eligibility criteria and have an obvious impairment that impacts the sport of football.
CP Football advantages
The incredible power of the football game is to bring people together by breaking down barriers. Playing this popular sport is full of joy and activeness for the players worldwide, and people with impairments are not exceptions. CP football has many benefits for CPs:
- Participating in a regular enjoyable activity improves the health condition
- It enhances the performance of breath organs
- This sport improves the flexibility of the muscles and joints
- This cerebral palsy sport enhances the performance of the brain and heart
- This game increases the coordination of the brain, eyes, legs, and it fastens the speed of the body action
- Taking part in matches and making new friends, socialization, and being with a group of people with the same conditions guarantees mental health.
- This CP sport increases the future opportunities for competing as an international player in great teams.
There is some limitation, but the fact is that restrictions cannot stop people from catching their dreams. CP football was designed to help those people with cerebral palsy catch their goal and become a champion. All rules and tools like frame football facilitate is the way for being champions.
In case you are interested to know more about other CP sports, we recommend you to read the article “10 CP Sport to make your life happier” in two parts:
