Amputee Soccer
By: Bob | August 17th, 2007Taking a break from our normally ridiculous variations on the sport of soccer, this week’s clip is a bit more inspirational. Amputee soccer has been played for three decades now, tracing its origins to El Salvador where soldiers and civilians who lost limbs during the war played it for exercise. The sport quickly spread to countries the world over. Today there are domestic leagues, regional competitions and an international World Cup -the 2007 Amputee Soccer World Cup will be held November 8 – 18 in Antalya, Turkey.
While the players in the field are single leg amputees who play without prostheses on aluminum crutches, the keepers are single-arm amputees. I don’t know this for a fact but I’m betting that the referees officiate without brains
Most of the rules of amputee soccer are essentially the same as the able bodied version except for the added rule that players aren’t allowed to use their crutches to strike the ball or any other players, although I’m sure the temptation to whack your opponent must be great. In general the games are played on shorter pitches (artificial surfaces seemed to be preferred) and sometimes feature teams of five or seven, but that varies depending on the competition.
If you have ever spent any time on crutches you know that getting around on them is not the easiest of tasks, which makes the speed at which Amputee soccer is played all the more impressive.
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Category: World Football
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Apropos to this posting and directly related to your previous message concerning amputee football in Africa is this video clip from the African Nations Cup Amputee Football Championships:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DVXbsZjQPvo
Thank you for your continued interest in amputee football.
Posted from
United States
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Hi Bob,
Thanks for the great piece on amputee football. That clip was made by two young American players, Paralympian Josh Sundquist and Robert Spotswood. One correction though, the game is not of El Salvadorean origin. It was invented and developed by Mr. Don Bennett of Seattle, Washington, USA, in 1980. http://www.ampsoccer.org/history.htm
The El Salvadoreans entered the game in 1984 and became World Champions. One player even had a postage stamp struck in his honor.
Thanks again for helping make folks aware of our great game.
Rick Hofmann
American Amputee Soccer Association – http://www.ampsocer.org &
World Amputee Football FederationPosted from
United States
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