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History of Power Soccer

The United States Power Soccer Association was formally started 19 years ago, but this sport has been played across the globe much longer than that. In the early 1970s, a group of French school teachers created the first version of power soccer, called French Powerchair Football.

After years of development and discovery through playing, power soccer as it is known today was formalized when representatives from France, Canada, Japan, England, Belgium, Portugal, and the US met in Coimbra, Portugal, to standardize the rules and kick off what would become an international sport. The result of their meeting was the formation of the International Powerchair Football Association (IPFA) in 2005. With 250 teams across the world, the sport is alive, well, and still changing.

Rules and Recreation

So, you’ve got the history down; now let’s learn the rules. Power soccer is played on a standard-sized basketball court, with two teams of four players on the court at a time. Each match consists of two 20-minute periods, during which teams attempt to get the ball between their opponents’ goal posts. Each player is in their own wheelchair, with a footguard attached to the front for striking the ball. The ball itself is 13 inches, about twice the size of a standard soccer ball.

While the flow of the game closely resembles soccer as you know it, there are a few unique rules that differentiate it. The 2-on-1 rule states that only one player from each team is allowed within three meters of the ball while it’s in play, spreading the field out and forcing players to pass the ball long distances. The 3-in-the-area rule states that a defending team can only have two players in their own goal area at a time. Once again, this forces players to position themselves well and remain cognizant of where their teammates are. Both of the rules highlighted here have exceptions, but you can see the general idea behind them: spread the game out, and keep it even.