Riva, Istanbul – Turkey – October 1-10, 2017

The first ever EAFF European Amputee Football Championship was held at the National Training Centre for the Turkish Football Federation in Riva, Istanbul. The Championship was a fantastic event that saw twelve countries battle it out over ten days to see who would be crowned amputee football champions of Europe.

The tournament had three groups of four teams; the teams had been seeded off their current world ranking. The group stage was completed on  6 October, with the seeded draw also taking place on the same day which gave a clearer route to the final for the final eight teams who had proceed into the quarter finals. There were also play-off fixtures for the ninth to twelfth places.

Throughout the ten days, the standard of football was excellent which in turn highlighted the recent development of amputee football with over 150 players taking part in the first ever major tournament in Europe. All teams competing played for rankings and qualification into World Cup 2018 which will take place in Mexico.

The final took place on Monday 9 October and saw hosts Turkey face England who had performed above expectations throughout the tournament. The final was played at the home of Turkish Süper Lig team Beşiktaş in front of 40,000+ fans. The Turkish national amputee football team were crowned EAFF European Champions, defeating England 2-1. The magnitude of the final was incredible and has given amputee football throughout Europe a platform and legacy to build upon for years to come.

The EAFF are extremely grateful to hosts Turkey for their efforts and organisation of this magnificent tournament. The relationship between Turkish Amputee Football Federation(TBEST) and Turkish Football Federation (TFF) is a prime example of how amputee football should be supported throughout Europe. Also many thanks to UEFA for their great support shown to the European Amputee Football Federation; it really does show that ‘Together Anything is Possible’.

Photos and the official tournament video are below.

https://www.sportanddev.org/latest/media/eaff-european-amputee-football-championship-2017

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