UEFA EUROPEAN CUP - “FOOTBALL FOR ALL” INITIATIVE
July 2nd, 2008. In: Soccer
Footballers with disabilities take centre stage at EURO2008 thanks to UEFA “Football for All” initiative
Football players with physical, sensorial and intellectual disabilities were all given the opportunity to show off their skills in front of the crowds at the UEFA EURO2008 quarter-final matches.
The matches were played on the pitches in Basel, Switzerland, and Vienna, Austria, just before kick-off. The initiative, the brainchild of UEFA President Michel Platini, aimed to highlight the abilities of the players, the accessibility of football for all irregardless of disability, and the respect UEFA gives players with disabilities.
The first match involved Europe’s top two blind futsal (five-a-side football) teams, IBSA European champions Spain and second-placed Great Britain, playing in Basel prior to the Germany vs. Portugal match last Thursday.
On Friday, the action moved to Vienna where players with intellectual disabilities representing Special Olympics SO-SO Austria and ÖBSV Austria took to the field before the Turkey vs. Croatia quarter-final.
Returning to Basel on Saturday, players with physical disabilities from Germany and hosts Switzerland lined up before the Netherlands faced Russia in the third quarter-final.
The Last night saw the project come to a close in Vienna just before the Spain vs. Italy match, with CPISRA (cerebral palsy) teams from the Netherlands and the Republic of Ireland.
The Football for All campaign for the UEFA EURO 2008TM quarter-finals has given fans the opportunity to see that disabled players are talented sportsmen in their own right - while also celebrating the joy of football.
International teams
Before each quarter-final, international disabled sports teams played games in the stadiums in Basel and Vienna, with each Football for All match split into two seven-minute halves. The project was co-ordinated in partnership with Plusport, the umbrella organisation for disability sports in Switzerland, and the Austrian sports federation for the disabled (ÖBSV), and financed by UEFA. Disability sports organisations from the countries of the articipating teams were also involved.
Netherlands win
In the final game at the Ernst-Happel-Stadion in Vienna, ahead of the Spain-Italy quarter-final, the Netherlands beat the Republic of Ireland 2-0 in a match between cerebral palsy players. Previous matches had involved visually impaired/blind players (Spain v England), players with learning disabilities (Special Olympics SO-SO Austria v ÖBSV Austria, and players with physical disabilities (Paralympics Switzerland v Germany).
(Source Info - European Paralympic Committee - www.europaralympic.org)
