Picture by Haruo Wanibe
The pressure is on! The draw for the pools of the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games blind football tournament took place on Saturday 25 May in Schiltigheim (Bas-Rhin). With less than 100 days to go before the competition kicks off, the teams know who their opponents will be.
France, Turkey, Morocco, China, Argentina, Brazil, Colombia and Japan are the 8 nations that will cross swords in what promises to be an historic Paralympic blind football tournament! Will the five-time reigning Olympic champions, Brazil, be able to continue their incredible run? The question is worth asking, given that in 2023 it was the Argentinians who took the world title. Will this change in the hierarchy reshuffle the cards for the gold medal?
Here are the compositions of the two pools (A and B) for the blind football tournament at the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games:
Pool A :
Pool B :
The competition will run from 1 to 7 September. The group matches will be held on 1, 2 and 3 September. The semi-finals on 5 September and the final on 7 September.
Reserve your seats now!
Sunday 1 September: group matches
Monday 2 September: group matches
Tuesday 3 September: group matches
Thursday 5 September: final stages
Saturday 7 September: Finals
Places are hard to come by at the Paralympic blind football tournament. Thailand (4th) and Spain (7th) were unable to qualify for this competition, a sign of the competitiveness of international blind football.
Picture by Buda Mendes
In Schiltigheim, the French team will have the opportunity to gauge its state of fitness with three months to go before the Paralympics. At the IBSA Blind Football Grand Prix (25 May to 1 June), Les Bleus will first take on Colombia, Thailand and Brazil (China, Turkey, Argentina and Japan are also in Alsace). This is an ideal opportunity to get into the rhythm of the competition and identify strengths and weaknesses, before setting off on a final training cycle that will take nations to a peak in form scheduled for early September.
An exceptional tournament means an exceptional stadium! From 1 to 7 September, the teams will have the honour of playing at the foot of the prestigious Eiffel Tower in a stadium seating almost 13,000. In this prestigious setting, there is no doubt that each nation will give its all to reach the final and win gold.
The Eiffeil Tower Stadium as a playground
A cousin discipline of traditional football, blind football ("cécifoot" in french) has its own special features: a sound ball, a mask over the eyes of the outfield players, a guide behind the goal, etc. With just under 100 days to go before the start of the competition, take the opportunity to learn more about this highly dynamic Para sport, which is also a source of benefits, as studies have shown that it improves the physical, psychological and social abilities of visually impaired people who play it.
I want to discover blind football