News

IBSA SIGNS AGREEMENT WITH BRAZILIAN GOVERNMENT

IBSA has signed an agreement with the Brazilian Ministry of Sports and Tourism for the free production and distribution of footballs for the blind. The agreement was signed on the 2nd of September in Brasilia by the IBSA President, Mr. Enrique Pérez, and the Brazilian Secretary of State for Sports, Mr. Lars Schmidt Grael.

According to the agreement, the Ministry of Sports and Tourism will manufacture two thousand footballs for the blind per year. These will then be sent to IBSA member countries where B1 football is being developed. Both the production and the distribution of the balls will be free of charge for IBSA.

The balls will be produced by prison inmates in the Brazilian state of Paraná as part of an employment rehabilitation programme involving the production of sports materials, and will further boost the development of IBSA Football, which makes its debut as a Paralympic sport at the Athens 2004 Paralympic Games.

Mr. Carlos Campos, IBSA Football Subcommittee Chairman, said of the agreement, "It´s a great boost for IBSA B1 Football. Blind football is played in many countries all over the world, but in some cases the prohibitive cost of the ball up to now has put countries off. With this agreement less well off nations will have much easier access to our balls and will be in a position to set up national teams. I hope to see the fruits of this in a couple of years´ time."

Mr. Enrique Pérez, IBSA President, added, "The agreement ensures a constant supply of free balls for the foreseeable future, and that can only be good for IBSA Football, IBSA in general and the Paralympic movement. We are hoping the ball will be approved as the official ball for Athens 2004, and it will definitely make its debut at the IBSA B1 World Championships in Brazil in December."

21/10/2002