#3 Five-a-side football
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Five-a-side football is a dynamic version of the beautiful game which was developed in Brazil in the 1960s when visually impaired students would kick a bottle with pebbles in it in a game called ‘goal to goal’.
Over the course of time, the bottle was replaced by a football with rattles inside it which help the players in locating the ball. The sport is played by players who are blind and are required to wear eyeshades which cannot be touched by the opponents. The only sighted players on each team on the pitch are the goalkeepers who give instructions to their teammates.
Verbal instructions are allowed on the pitch during the pitch but only by guides, goalkeepers and coaches. The guides are the team’s assistants who are positioned behind the opponent’s goal and help the team by shouting the moves to make and the direction to the goal.
In this game, there are no sidelines like in football, instead, low side walls measuring 1.2 metres in height are present. A game of 5-a-side football is divided into two halves of 25-minutes each, where an athlete will be sent off and substituted after committing a total of five fouls.
The spectators at the game also have to observe rules which include keeping quiet while the game is underway as the players need to hear the instructions and the sound of the ball.
The hosts Brazil have won every 5-a-side gold medal at the Games since Athens 2004 and will be the favourites to retain the crown.
