Neha Patil (Editor)

United States men's Paralympic soccer team

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Founded
  
1913

CONCACAF affiliation
  
1961

FIFA affiliation
  
1914

President
  
Sunil Gulati

United States men's Paralympic soccer team

Website
  
USSoccer.com/paralympic-national-team

The United States Men's Paralympic National soccer team is operated by the United States Soccer Federation. Their Head Coach is Stuart Sharp. Comedian Josh Blue is one of their former players.

The U.S. Paralympic National Soccer Team (USPNT) is an elite level program that selects players from across the United States in preparation for International standard competition. The National Team, in addition to friendly matches and invitational tournaments, competes in the following events:

- Intercontinental Cup - Copa America - World Championships - Parapan American Games -Paralympic Games

For players to be eligible, they must be ambulant (no requirement for assistive walking aids) and have one of the following neurological conditions:

- have had a Stroke - have Cerebral Palsy - have had a Traumatic Brain Injury / Acquired Brain Injury

Individuals with the above conditions may display varying degrees of the following impairments:

Diplegia Hemiplegia Triplegia Quadriplegia Monoplegia Dystonia Athetosis Ataxia Balance issues Co-ordination issues Weakness in certain areas of the body

In many cases the above conditions may result in only minimal levels of motor dysfunction (some not noticeable to the untrained eye); however, under the rules of the sport, this could still make players eligible for the U.S. Paralympic National Team.

"Football 7-a-side" is the standard term for the game informally known as "C.P. Football," and international tournaments are hosted by the International Paralympic Committee, FIFA, or International Federation of CP Football IFCPF. Team selection and tournaments are competitive, and tend to be run like professional sport organizations. The USA team trains at the Olympic Training Center at Chula Vista, California, and the Home Depot Center at Carson, California.

References

United States men's Paralympic soccer team Wikipedia