FIPFA, the Fédération Internationale de Powerchair Football Association, is the international governing body of powerchair football. It is headquartered in Paris

Paris

Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...

 in France

France

The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

.

In 2006, representatives of 9 nations met in Coimbra

Coimbra

Coimbra is a city in the municipality of Coimbra in Portugal. Although it served as the nation's capital during the High Middle Ages, it is better-known for its university, the University of Coimbra, which is one of the oldest in Europe and the oldest academic institution in the...

 in Portugal

Portugal

Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...

 and then in Atlanta in the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 to develop a standardized set of laws for the game and to form and international governing body.

Organization

FIPFA is governed by an Executive Council with 10 members, each elected for 4 years. The President supervises the proposals put forth by commissions that work together for the development of the discipline throughout the world.

FIPFA is organized similar to FIFA

FIFA

The Fédération Internationale de Football Association , commonly known by the acronym FIFA , is the international governing body of :association football, futsal and beach football. Its headquarters are located in Zurich, Switzerland, and its president is Sepp Blatter, who is in his fourth...

, with several international zones. Currently, the only organized zone is the European Powerchair Football Association (EPFA

EPFA

The European Powerchair Football Association, commonly abbreiviated to EPFA was established to govern the powerchair football in Europe. EPFA is a member organization of the Fédération Internationale de Powerchair Football Association ....

), although the Powerchair Football Conference of the Americas (PFCA) is currently in the process of being organized. Eventually, the goal is to have zones for Asia and Africa as well.

Rules

The rules of the game are fairly simple like regular football (soccer.) The object of the game is to kick (using a specially designed wheelchair) the ball into the goal. There are three players on the field at the same time plus a goalie.

World Cup

There are competitions every four years. The first World Cup competition was hosted in Japan in 2007, and was won by the US National Team. The US team successfully defended its title in Paris in 2011.

The game is for disabled and handicapped people.