Powerchair Football Is Electric

If Wheelchair Rugby is ‘murderball’ then to call Powerchair Football ‘cage fighting’ is not too big a stretch.
Armed only with their electric wheelchairs, with a cage attached to the front to hit the ball, the Australian Poweroos and an A-League Selection Team went bumper to bumper in an exhibition match at the National Futsal Championships at Sydney’s Valentine Sports Park.
With a high level of skill but low regard for self-preservation, the best Powerchair Football exponents in the country showed why this is a burgeoning spectator sport with powerful backing from A-League clubs including the Western Sydney Wanderers and the Central Coast Mariners.
First conceived in France in the 1970s, Powerchair Football quickly took off around Europe, North America and Asia with Australia finally coming to the party in 2010.
Since then however, Powerchair Football has quickly gained traction, with the Poweroos finishing seventh at the last World Cup and aiming for at least a semi-final berth in 2016.
Around this game disability is a dirty word because what  these men and women can achieve with a lot of teamwork and an oversized ball has to be seen to be believed 
Usually played on a basketball court, this exhibition match was the first time in Australia Powerchair Football has been played on a Futsal sized court, the players revelling in the extra space; “It was actually nice to have a bit more room and I think we adjusted well”, Australian captain Chris Suffield said.
For the record, the Poweroos defeated the A-League Selection Team 4-1 but, dare we say it, Powerchair Football was the winner on the day.
Player of the Match, Suffield will wear the sky blue of NSW at the next Australian Championships; “We were really disappointed losing to Queensland in the final at the last Nationals. We’ve got a lot of work to do but we want to win it back,” he said.
Kevin Betts Stadium in Mt Druitt, Western Sydney will host the 2015 Powerchair Football National Championships in October.