Wando-gun, Key Points to Watch in Soccer at the 31st Jeonnam Disabled Sports Festival

Published 24 Feb.2023 11:19(KST)

120 Participants Compete at Gogeum Life Sports Park

The "31st Jeollanam-do Disabled Sports Festival," a sports festival for the unity of 2 million Jeollanam-do residents, will be held in Wando-gun for three days from May 24 to 26.

According to the county on the 24th, the organizing committee of the 31st Jeollanam-do Disabled Sports Festival is introducing the rules and viewing points of each event every week so that residents and spectators can enjoy the games more.

Perspective view of Gogeum Life Sports Park, scheduled to be completed in April, where the soccer match of the 32nd Jeonnam Disabled Sports Festival will be held
[Photo by Wando-gun]

The event to be introduced this time is "football," and disabled football applies the same rules as general football.

Regarding the game format, it follows the regulations of the International Federation of Association Football (FIFA) and is divided into five categories: intellectual disabilities, hearing impairments, cerebral palsy, and visual impairments (low vision, total blindness).

The intellectual disability and hearing impairment categories have 11 players per team, the cerebral palsy category has 7 players per team, and the visually impaired football category has 5 players per team.

In addition, visually impaired football (total blindness) is played on a smaller field than a regular football pitch, measuring 40m in length and 20m in width, with players blindfolded. The ball contains a special embedded sound device to help players predict the ball's movement and ensure their safety.

The football matches for the 31st Jeollanam-do Disabled Sports Festival (intellectual and hearing impairments) will be held from May 24 to 26 at Gogeum Life Sports Park, with about 120 players competing to determine the winner.

Eligibility requires that participants be classified as disabled according to sports grading and must complete the application process through each city or county and receive approval from the Jeollanam-do Disabled Sports Association.

The football competition at the Jeollanam-do Disabled Sports Festival is conducted in a tournament format, with matches decided by penalty shootouts without extra time from the preliminary rounds to the finals.

Match duration is set at 15 minutes per half with a 10-minute halftime break, regardless of disability type. Team composition includes 8 players (5 starters, 3 substitutes) and 2 officials (manager, coach).

Once the match begins, only the manager, coach, sign language interpreter, volunteers, and substitute players listed on the application form are allowed to sit on the team bench.

Other regulations require players to wear shorts, socks, and shin guards, and glasses are prohibited (sports goggles are allowed).

The detailed categories are mixed 5-a-side for intellectual disabilities (IDD), mixed 5-a-side for hearing impairments (DB), and mixed 5-a-side for visual impairments (B2?B3), with no gender ratio restrictions.

In the 30th tournament held in 2022, the intellectual disability (IDD) team event winners were Suncheon in first place, Gwangyang in second, and Mokpo in third. The hearing impairment (DB) team event winners were Naju in first place, Jangheung in second, and Yeosu in third.

The tournaments in 2020 and 2021 were canceled due to COVID-19.

In the 31st tournament, notable viewing points include the defending champions Suncheon City and Naju City aiming for double crowns, and fierce competition among Gwangyang City, Mokpo City, Yeosu City, and Jangheung County for gold medals.

The host, Wando-gun, participated with one team in the intellectual disability team event but was narrowly defeated by the strong Gwangyang team in the preliminaries and eliminated. However, leveraging the advantage of being the host of the 31st tournament, good results are anticipated.