Football played in a powerchair
Powerchair football is football played in a powered wheelchair. The rules are close to football. The chair does the kicking instead of a foot.
It is the first competitive team sport designed specifically for people who use a powered wheelchair.
In the United States it is called "power soccer". The two names mean the same game.
Four players a side, on an indoor basketball court.
A frontguard is fitted to the front of the chair. That is what kicks the ball. It also protects the player’s feet and the chair.
The player’s skill combines with the speed and power of the chair itself.
The ball is 33cm across — one and a half times the diameter of an adult football (about 22cm).
A smaller ball would wedge under a chair, which is dangerous. That is why it is this big.
The goals have no net and no crossbar — a net would catch the wheels.
The sport is for people who use a powered wheelchair. A player must be able to control their chair safely.
To play internationally an athlete is classified by how much their impairment affects performance. There are two classes: PF1 and PF2.
PF1 is a player with highly significant physical difficulty. PF2 is moderate to mild.
A team may not field more than two PF2 players in a match. So there are always at least two PF1 players on court.
Classification is not a ranking of ability. Fitness, age, gender and skill are not factors in it.
Players with cerebral palsy, muscular dystrophy, spinal cord injury and many other conditions play together.
There is no gender restriction. Women and men play on the same team.
The game began in France in the 1970s, made by teachers for students with severe disabilities.
Around the same time a similar game appeared independently in Canada. Every country had its own rules.
Between 2005 and 2006 the national bodies met and merged them into one set. FIPFA was founded in 2006.
That international set is what this screen covers — the FIPFA Laws of the Game, approved April 2025.
In principle the World Cup is held every four years. The first was Tokyo 2007; the most recent was Sydney 2023.
More than thirty countries play, Korea among them.
The International Paralympic Committee recognised the sport in 2009. It is still not a Paralympic medal sport.