Entry applications have opened for the goalball competitions of the 2019 IBSA Goalball and Judo Paralympic Qualifying Competition to be held in Fort Wayne, Indiana, USA, from 30 June – 10 July.

All IBSA members in good standing are invited to apply for their men’s and women’s teams to be considered to compete in the event. It will be one of the key opportunities to secure a place at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games.

Applications opened on 25 August and will close on 10 October.

A maximum of 16 men’s and 16 women’s teams will be selected by the IBSA Goalball Committee to compete.

Selection will be based on teams’ performances at the 2018 IBSA Goalball World Championships in Malmo, Sweden, followed by the ranking of teams within their regional qualification tournaments before Malmo 2018.

The qualifier in Fort Wayne will then be used to fill any slots for Tokyo 2020 not taken by the hosts or any other teams that may not have qualified through the Worlds or regional Championships set to be held in 2019. These include Africa, Asia/Pacific, European (group A) or the Parapan American Games.

Once the goalball committee have reviewed all applications, the final selection will be published on the IBSA website by 15 October. The Local Organising Committee of Fort Wayne 2018 will then contact teams to begin registration.

More information can be found in the related documents at the top of this page. The qualification criteria and process for Tokyo 2020 can be found here.

Questions can also be sent to the IBSA Goalball Sports Director, Alexey Baryaev at [email protected].