FUTSAL

This sport is quite young among athletes with intellectual disability. In the autumn of 2008, the First European Championship took place in Hungary, with six participating teams including a Czech team. Unfortunately, Czechs ranked last without a single match won. The winner of the European Championship was Poland, which will also be one of the main favourites of Global Games 2009.

Apart from the Poles, also the Portuguese are believed to stand a chance of winning. Both teams have significant, distinctive players able to score goals. While Pawel Markowski is a Polish forward star, Guilhelme Silva represents the forward star of Portugal.

Futsal will have its opening at the Global Games. Five years ago, football was played in Sweden instead of futsal, i.e. indoor football. However, due to the demanding organization of football tournaments and a greater availability of futsal players, the official of the International Sports Federation for People with an Intellectual Disability (INAS-FID) in cooperation with national associations have decided to organize a tournament in futsal. There will be ten international teams participating.