The Sport of Goalball

Sports for people with physical disabilities usually end up in the obscure sports world. I came across one sport recently called “goalball”.

Goalball is a team sport specifically for athletes with a vision impairment. Players compete in teams of three, and try to throw a ball with bells embedded inside it into the opponents' goal. The ball is thrown by hand and never kicked. Using ear–hand coordination, originating as a rehabilitation exercise, the sport has no able-bodied equivalent. Sighted athletes are also blindfolded when playing this sport.

Goalball was originally devised in 1946 by Hans Lorenzen, an Austrian, and Sepp Reindle, a German, as a means of assisting the rehabilitation of visually impaired World War II veterans

It is estimated that there were 81 competing nations. By July 2025 (since November 2011), there were 99 competitive nations for men, and 61 nations for women.

Goalball is also played at the Paralympic Games. The number of participating teams has changed over the decades, but for the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games, this was reduced from ten to eight teams per division by the International Paralympic Committee. For the IBSA-sanctioned tournaments, athletes must have a visual impairment.

The IBSA World Goalball Championships has been held every four years since 1978. Championships are held within the regions of Africa, America, Asia-Pacific, and Europe.

Here are some of the basic rules for Goalball:

• The game is played on an indoor court similar to the size of a volleyball court with textured lines which allow players to feel their location on the court.
• Players were opaque eyeshades to ensure fair competition among different vision impairments and with a ball containing bells.
• Teams attempt to throw or roll the ball into the opponent’s net while they attempt to block it with their bodies.
• The game is played in two 12-minute halves.

The 2026 Goalball World Championships are to be held at Hangzhou, China, for Saturday 6 to Tuesday 16 June 2026, with 16 men's teams and 16 women's teams. Men's teams may include the host nation of China, and 2024 Paris Paralympic Games medalists Japan, Ukraine, and Brazil. Women's teams may include the host nation of China, and 2024 Paris Paralympic Games medalists Turkey, Israel, and China.

Brazil has won the past three men’s titles. Turkey won the 2022 Gold Medal for women. The United States has won the Gold Medal with Men (1982) and Women (1982, 1986, 2002, 2014)