By Daniel Etchells

Power soccer is striving for inclusion at the Paralympics ©Vermont ChargersPower soccer was showcased at an event hosted by the Vermont Chargers earlier this month as the sport continues to strive for a place on the Paralympic programme.

Powerchair football, as it is also known, was among the sports which the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) dropped after the first phase of the application process for the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games and attention now turns to 2024. 

The dynamic four on four version of soccer played by power wheelchair users was previously unsuccessful in its bid for a place at Rio 2016. 

The Chargers, who compete nationally as part of the United States Power Soccer Association, provided the general public the opportunity to learn more about the sport and talk to players at the Burlington Square Mall.

Sponsored by the Northeast Disabled Athletic Association (NDAA), a Vermont-based, non-profit charitable organisation, the club's mission is to promote the sport of power soccer to the Vermont community and to encourage participation from powerchair users.
 
The Vermont Chargers are raising public awareness of power soccer ©Vermont ChargersThe Vermont Chargers are raising public awareness of power soccer ©Vermont Chargers


A total of 24 sports - the 22 sports that will feature at Rio 2016, together with new sports badminton and taekwondo - were eligible to apply for inclusion at Tokyo 2020.

The 16 sports approved so far by the IPC Governing Board are athletics, archery, badminton, boccia, equestrian, goalball, powerlifting, rowing, shooting, sitting volleyball, swimming, table tennis, triathlon, wheelchair basketball, wheelchair rugby and wheelchair tennis.

The Board will make a final decision on the other eight sports - canoeing, cycling, five-a-side football, seven-a-side football, judo, taekwondo, sailing and wheelchair fencing - at a meeting in the United Arab Emirates capital Abu Dhabi from January 30 to February 1 2015. 

Contact the writer of this story at [email protected]


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