The months of anxious waiting for the evaluation of the candidature of Powerchair Football for the Paralympic Games gave way to a sense of disappointment as the results of the bidding were just announced by the International Paralympic Committee. Powerchair Football was not selected to join the Rio 2016 Sports Programme. FIPFA President Hervé Delattre, in Guangzhou for the results and the opening of the Games, nonetheless was up-beat and spoke with a sense of hope: “FIPFA is still a young Federation and we made a great deal of progress in preparing our excellent bid for the Paralympics, which will help us for the next time. The FIPFA World Cup, Paris 2011 is taking place in less than a year. It is our flagship event and we look forward to a great event at which I hope to see Paralympic officials attend to see what they will miss at Rio!”
FIPFA was also represented in Guangzhou by its Asia Zone President; Hiroshi Takahashi. “Our eyes are on the thousands of athletes here for the Asian Paralympic Games. Many of those competing are also quite familiar with Power Soccer (Powerchair Football) and play it already. I hope one day soon we can see our exciting sport widely appreciated in the Paralympic Movement.”
The FIPFA bid document was reviewed by the International Paralympic Committee Governing Board at its meeting in Guangzhou, China at the start of the Asian Paralympic Games. There were many strong points to the bid, but apparently not enough to push through Powerchair Football as the first electric wheelchair Paralympic Sport. Several thousand athletes with severe and multiple impairments who use an electric wheelchair for their daily living take part in this team sport around the world.