Key Points
- Australia will host the men's and women's 2023 IFCPF Asia-Oceania Championships (Para Asian Cup) from 31 October.
- Parasports can be an incredible tool for people with disabilities.
- The Pararoos and ParaMatildas play under the motto 'to be undefeated in life and on the pitch'.
Coming off the hugely successful Women’s World Cup, Australia is about to host another major football tournament: the men's and women's 2023 IFCPF Asia-Oceania Championships.
Also known as the Para Asian Cup, it is a tournament of cerebral palsy football (CP football), a modified version of football specific to athletes with cerebral palsy, acquired brain injury and symptoms resulting from stroke.
This form of seven-a-side football debuted at the Summer Paralympic Games in 1984, but was dropped from the program for the 2020 Games in Tokyo.
For players like Goki Saito, who has been actively participating in CP football, the upcoming Para Asian Cup is an opportunity for the sport to be seen.
"CP football is not well known. So if you come to any of the CP football games, it will mean the world to us," he tells SBS Japanese.
Sydney-based CP footballer Goki Saito. Credit: Supplied
Sense of belonging
When he was eight, Saito experienced a stroke which impacted his right side.
"It was a tough time. The first year, I didn't know what a stroke was. I thought I was just a normal kid who just fainted … it turns out that the stroke really affected me," he says.
The condition affected him not only physically but mentally as well.
I was scared of people judging me.Goki Saito
However, he did play football with his friends to socialise and to maintain his physical fitness, which is important for individuals with cerebral palsy, he explains.
That was when former Pararoo Brett Fairhall found Saito.
"He found me playing a local game. He noticed that I had the same disability as him," he recalls.
This was Saito's introduction to CP football.
"I never knew that there was such a thing as CP football."
But Saito says the opportunity to interact with people with the same condition opened a whole new world for him.
Going out with people similar to me allowed me to gain so much confidence.Goki Saito
"Because I gained confidence from CP football, I started CP swimming, CP running, athletics, CP cross country. It's thanks to CP football."
Saito has since been playing with the NSW CP football squad and was also called up for the Pararoos training squad last year, an unforgettable experience which inspired him to keep striving.
The 21-year-old has also picked up coaching in the past year, leading the girl's SAP (Skills Acquisition Program) team at NWS Spirit FC.
Rob White, CEO of says sports can play an important role for the cerebral palsy community, not only for their health and wellbeing, but as an enabler of greater social and community participation.
"We know that the confidence and skills built through sports can also translate into young people becoming greater advocates as well," he says.
Parasport can be incredibly powerful for people with disabilities, and it’s empowering for young people with cerebral palsy to know that they can aspire to represent their country.Rob White, CEO of Cerebral Palsy Alliance
"We're proud our sports camps and therapy programs have played a role in supporting the development of many of our talented ParaMatildas and Pararoos," White says.
Football camp organised by Cerebral Palsy Alliance. Credit: Cerebral Palsy Alliance
'Be undefeated in life'
The head coach of the Pararoos, Kai Lammert, says the opportunity to play on home soil in front of friends and family will be a "very very special experience" for the Australian teams.
"We want to fill the stands and give both teams an amazing experience," he says.
This will be the first time that the men’s and women’s Para Asian Cup will be held concurrently. For the ParaMatildas, who were only formed in March 2022, this will be their very first Asian Cup.
"We've always felt that in the past, the family was not really complete without a women's side of CP football, but that's obviously changed," Lammert says.
Head coach of the Pararoos, Kai Lammert. Credit: Liam Ayres
"To be undefeated in life and on the pitch," the coach says.
'It's real football'
Played on a smaller field with smaller goals, CP football is traditionally marked by high scorelines and is an "exciting game to watch," says Lammert.
"Anyone who loves football, anyone who loves watching the Socceroos or the Matildas at the World Cup will love this game as well. It's real football."
Players are classified between 1-3, with at least one FT1 player and a maximum of one FT3 player on the field at any time. There is no offside and players are allowed to roll the ball into play.
Daniel Campbell during an international friendly against the United States of America, at Cromer Park, NSW. Credit: Supplied by Football Australia
As CP footballers tend to have impairment on one side, the sport is about working together and accommodating one another.
"I have to be creative, thinking outside the box," he says.
The Para Asian Games will be held from 31 October to 12 November 2023 at the newly constructed 'Home of the Matildas' at La Trobe University in Melbourne.
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