History of Powerchair Football

1978 - France creates “Football in electric wheelchairs” for young people with severe disabilities. 1979 - Without having any contact with France, Canada starts to develop a sport called “Power Soccer” which soon made its way to the USA and Japan. At the same time “Wheelchair Football” was being played in Belgium, Portugal and Switzerland. 1980s and 90s - Several styles of play developed without contact between nations. All were inspired by the Canadian and French models and each adapted their play to meet their own requirements.
2005 and 2006 - The founding international federations (France, the United States, Canada, Japan, England and Portugal) met in Paris with the goal of making the sport international. Denmark and Belgium joined this group at a meeting in Portugal and in 2006, the international body FIPFA was formed and the new rule book was ratified after a testing event in the USA. 2007 - The inaugural FIPFA World Cup was held in Tokyo, Japan in October. The original eight teams competed to be crowned the first powerchair football world champions, with the USA taking home the title.
2008 to 2010 - International club competitions began to arrive, with two editions of the EPFA Power Champions League held in France in 2008 and England in 2010. The Americas Cup was held in the USA in 2009 and in Canada in 2010. Several development events were held during this time. 2011 - Development event held in Sydney with athletes, coaches and referees from the USA, France and Japan in attendance. Paris hosted the 2nd FIPFA World Cup in November –Australia’s first international powerchair football tournament – which was once again won by the USA.
2017 - The 3rd FIPFA World Cup was held in Kissimmee, Florida and was won by France for the first time. Australia reached the semi-finals, finishing 4th. 2018 - Australia is awarded the hosting rights for the 2023 FIPFA World Cup! 2019 - Australia hosts the 2nd APO (Asia Pacific Oceania) Cup at Sydney Olympic Park’s Quay Centre, beating both Japan and New Zealand to claim our first APO Cup title.