On the occasion of UEFA EURO 2016, the City of Paris wished to highlight disabled sports. This includes football, with blind football and powerchair football. Come and discover these sports activities on June 30th on the Eiffel Tower Fan Zone (7th arrondissement).
The Upsilon club from Châtenay- Malabry, member of the French first division, will make a demonstration of powerchair football on June 30th at 04:00 p.m. on the Urban Field of the Eiffel Tower Fan Zone. Powerchair football is mixed, has no age limit and currently represent the only collective sport destined to very disabled people.
Two games of blind football, destined to partially-sighted and blind people, will take place at 06:00 p.m. on the City Coke Stadium of the Eiffel Tower Fan Zone. The Sporting Paris Cecifoot club, France’s champions, and the AS Cecifoot Saint-Mandé (which introduced the sport in France in 1987) will play against each other. Several international players, including players from the national French team, will be present on the pitch. Spectators will also be able to play a game blindfolded.
“After hosting the World Powerchair football championship four years ago, we are very proud to promote these athletes and disciplines that are still unknown, and allow everyone to discover them and participate” says Jean-François Martins, Deputy Mayor of Paris for Sport and Tourism.
“Playing football, and more broadly practicing sport, is a wonderful factor of social integration, especially for disabled people. I’m thrilled to see that the Euro championship enables to take a fresh look at these practices and at the associations working every day with disabled people” adds Bernard Jomier, Deputy Mayor of Paris in charge of health, handicap and relations with the l'Assistance Publique - hôpitaux de Paris (French public hospital system).