CPISRA and the International Federation of Cerebral Palsy Football (IFCPF) claimed hey were shocked by the decision to remove seven-a-side football from the Paralympic programme, with the sport having been present at every Games since New York 1984.

IPC President Sir Phillip Craven had claimed the sport, alongside sailing which also missed the selection of 22 sports, did not meet its Handbook's minimum criteria for worldwide reach.

That states "only team sports widely practiced in a minimum of 24 countries and three IPC regions will be considered for inclusion in the Paralympic Games."

Despite its seven-a-side football's exclusion from the 2020 Paralympic programme it will appear at the 2015 CPISRA World Games in Nottingham, England, due to take place in August.

At a meeting of the CPISRA Executive Committee in the city, the governing body agreed to provide administration services to the IFCPF and dedicated cerebral palsy football funds to help with the with provision of the service.

It was also decided that CPISRA would continue to manage the cerebral palsy football funds until the IFCPF have opened a bank account, whilst making funds and administration services available from its 2015 budget to help with the development in racerunning, wheelchair slalom and adaptive sports.

CPISRA also took the opportunity to view the progress made by the Local Organising Committee of the 2015 CPISRA World Games, with visits to the bowls venue and the Harvey Hadden Stadium, which will host the Opening Ceremony, athletics and swimming during the World Games.

Sailing was also left of the 22 Paralympic sport programme for Tokyo 2020 ©IPC


Additionally, the RaceRunning Committee held a meeting to discuss a number of issues, primarily the setting of criteria for lactic threshold testing that IPC athletics wish to be carried out on RaceRunner athletes, while they agreed on a new International classification pathway for RaceRunning classifiers and made amendments to its rulebook.

CPISRA also announced that the Spain's Juan Antonio López has become the first member the Wheelchair Slalom Committee, with the intention that a meeting will take place midway through 2015 to develop a long term plan for to push the sport forwards.

The CPISRA World Games are due to take place in Nottingham from August 7 to 16 and will feature competition in athletics, bowls, seven-a-side-football, swimming, table cricket and taekwondo.

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