Head of Iran national Cerebral Palsy (CP) football committee Aminollah Mani made the remarks saying “following the IPC’s decision to ban Russia from 2016 Paralympic Games, athletes from other countries will replaced Russian representatives on the basis of two criteria.”
“The two yardsticks for CP football field include world ranking as well as the team’s position in its respective continent,” noted the official adding “the Iranian squad has been named as the alternative to Russia given that mentally challenged Iranian sportsmen have won the Asian title and recently offered excellent performances by finishing first at the 2016 IFCPF World Championships Qualification Tournament in Denmark’s Vejen.”
Mani further noted that “great correspondences have been made with IPC and fortunately the Iranian athletes have found their way to 2016 Paralympics.”
“Iranian men’s national 7-a-side football team had previously suffered a great deal of emotional trauma after they failed to attend the 2015 World Championships in Britain since the hosts refused to issue relevant visas and Iran lost the chance to secure Paralympic spots,” he underscored.
Aminollah Mani said national players are now in a training camp and upon receiving the Olympic quota they have become even more motivated; “hopefully, the Persians will achieve good preparation the Paralympic Games in Rio.”
The 7-a-side football is a form of association football for athletes with cerebral palsy and other neurological disorders, namely stroke and traumatic brain injury. The matches consist of two 30-minute halves, with a 15-minute interval, and are played with modified FIFA rules.
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