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Blind Football American Championships set to begin in Chile

Date: November 28, 2017

Santiago de Chile is ready to play host to the 2017 IBSA Blind Football American Championships, with play beginning in just a few hours.

The championships, also known in the region as the Copa América de IBSA, kick off later today with the opening ceremony at 10:00, followed by the inaugural match between hosts Chile and Colombia.

Later today Argentina take on Mexico (16:30) and Brazil face Peru (19:00).

Brazil, reigning American champions since 2007 and the team everyone wants to beat, face a tough challenge to retain the title they last won at the Para Pan-American Games in Toronto, Canada, in 2015.

Caption: Brazil's Ricardinho celebrates after scoring his team's second goal in the 2-1 victory over Argentina in the final of the 2015 Para Pan-American Games in Toronto (Fernando Maia/MPIX/CPB).

Brazil has won IBSA's American continental blind football championships eight times since the first event was held in Asunción, Paraguay, in October 1997, but Toronto runners-up and two-times American champions Argentina (1999 and 2005) will be looking to wrest the title from their grasp.

The competition is a round-robin group stage from today until Saturday, and finals day on Sunday to decide placings.

Match schedule

Match day 1 – Tuesday November 28th

10:00 Opening ceremony
11:20 Chile vs Colombia
16.30 Argentina vs Mexico
19:00 Brazil vs Peru

Match day 2 – Wednesday November 29th

10:00 Chile vs Peru
12.30 Colombia vs Argentina
16.30 Mexico vs Brasil

Match day 3 – Thursday November 30th

10:00 Colombia vs Mexico
12:30 Argentina vs Peru
16:30 Chile vs Brasil

Match day 4 – Friday December 1st

10:00 Argentina vs Brazil
12:30 Chile vs Mexico
16:30 Colombia vs Perú

Match day 5 – Saturday December 2nd

10:00 Chile vs Argentina
12:30 Colombia vs Brazil
16:30 Mexico vs Peru

Match day 6 – Sunday December 3rd

10:00 5th-6th place play-off
12:30 3rd-4th place play-off
16:30 Final

All matches on Sunday December 3rd will be streamed live.

Three teams will qualify from Chile 2017 to take part in the IBSA Blind Football World Championships in Madrid, Spain, in June 2018. As reigning world champions (Tokyo 2014), Brazil has qualified automatically for Madrid 2018.

IBSA's local partners in hosting the event are the Chilean Sports Federation for the Visually Impaired and the Paralympic Committee of Chile. The championships will take place at the Estadio Municipal Manuel Rojas del Río in Colina, Santiago de Chile.

Follow all the action on the IBSA Blind Football Facebook page or Twitter feed, or the Paralympic Committee of Chile Facebook page or Twitter feed.

IBSA has held regional blind football championships in America since 1997. Since 2007, every four years the competition is held under the umbrella of the Para Pan-American Games.

History of IBSA Blind Football American Championships

Year Host city and country Winner

1997 Asunción, Paraguay Brazil
1999 Buenos Aires, Argentina Argentina
2001 Paulinas, Brazil Brazil
2003 Bogotá, Colombia Brazil
2005 Sao Paulo, Brazil Argentina
2007 Rio de Janeiro, Brazil Brazil
2009 Buenos Aires, Argentina Brazil
2011 Guadalajara, Mexico Brazil
2013 Santa Fe, Argentina Brazil
2015 Toronto, Canada Brazil
2017 Santiago de Chile, Chile

Caption: logo for the IBSA Blind Football American Championships Chile 2017.