Is anyone today more passionate about football than the late Liverpool manager Bill Shankly was? Watching Australia’s Poweroos train in the run up to the 2023 FIPFA Powerchair Football World Cup, reminded me of the Scotsman’s famous quote comes to mind: “Some people treat football as a matter of life and death … it’s much more important than that.”
Shankly was speaking in the mid-70s, well before player celebrity brands and big-money agents were a thing. He led at a time when footballers were grittier and left everything on the pitch. Others think the modern game is more exciting to watch for its skill and tactics. Powerchair football gives you the best of both and the game’s mettle rewrites Shankly’s words in bold.
Australians have shown how much it meant to see the Matildas storm to the semi-final at the Women’s World Cup on home soil. Now it’s the Poweroos’ turn to rev up the nation. Powerchair football is a modified version of football for players who live with challenging conditions such as muscular dystrophy. Two teams of four (from a squad of eight) compete on a court – similar in size to basketball – in motorised chairs specially adapted to the individual athlete’s needs. Or as the Australian coach, Peter Turnbull, puts it, “$30,000 football boots”.
Powerchair football first came into play around the turn of the millennium and took off in Australia with the Poweroos in 2010. Based on the rules of regular football, it is a match of 20-minute halves and the aim of the fast-paced game is to score goals. Except in this case, players skilfully “twist and spin” their chair to tackle, dribble, pass and cross a 33cm ball before striking it between goalposts. It’s highly tactical with no offside, but a similarly tricky “two-on-one” rule where only two players from the same team can enter a 3-metre radius around the ball. In the penalty box, the rule doesn’t apply to the goalkeeper, who can also morph into an outfield player at any time.
The electrified game still involves getting a sweat on. Turnbull says one player’s lung capacity increased from 18% to more 60% in four years. The coach, whose son Chris plays in the team, thinks it will be the best Powerchair Football World Cup to date. The Poweroos finished seventh and fourth at previous World Cups and are aiming to improve on that in Sydney. A new rule will see all 10 teams play each other throughout the week in a round robin before the knockouts.
The tournament is considered somewhat of a two-team race between favourites England and France. Their relatively easy and more regular access to elite-level games has helped development in Europe. But now ranked fourth in the world, the Poweroos are well placed to upset any overconfident predictions and the Women’s World Cup showed the favourites don’t always get their way on the biggest stage. The team are revered for their fast, robust style. Plus, this time, for a change, they haven’t had to deal with the gruelling travel and jet lag.
Among Australia’s aces are seasoned players such as the captain, Dimitri Liolio-Davis, from Newcastle Jets, and Abdullah Karim from Western Sydney Wanderers. Karim, whose powerchair prowess comes from controlling a joystick with the dexterity of his feet, is expecting family and friends to bring “a few Lebanese drums and special chants” to their games in Sydney. The 32-year-old is regularly lauded as the world’s best player (and powerchair football’s Lionel Messi) and credits Liolio-Davis with holding the side from the midfield.
Wearing the green and gold is a dream come true for 25-year-old Rebecca Evans – the first woman to represent Australia at World Cup level. Evans, a doctoral researcher who needs a ventilator 24/7, says five years of hard work and determination got her here. Inspired by the Matildas’ World Cup run and their effect on the sport, the Melbourne City player is determined to show the world what Australian powerchair football is all about. Evans hopes the world stage will attract lifelong fans and draw new players when they see what’s possible.
Shankly’s comment about the importance of football has been reported as a tongue-in-cheek quip not to be taken literally. But powerchair footballers may disagree. The sport has instilled a confidence to pursue a full life – of friends, relationships, study and other seemingly regular things many able-bodied people take for granted. “Whizzing around in the chairs … we forget about our challenges and break boundaries,” Karim says. In that respect, it is more important to them than even Shankly could ever have imagined.
The 2023 FIPFA Powerchair Football World Cup starts on Sunday at Sydney Olympic Park’s Quaycentre, with the final to be held on 20 October
