The International Blind Sports Federation (IBSA) Blind Football has opened entries for the 2021 European Championships Division 2, taking place in Bucharest, Romania from 22-29 September.

The competition will be a qualifier for the next division one Euros in 2022, with the top two teams securing a slot at next year’s competition.

Hosted by the National Paralympic Committee of Romania and the Romanian Association of the Blind in partnership with the Romanian Football Federation, teams will play at the country’s national training base in Mogosoaia.

Entry details, including the invitation and information pack and contact details, can be found at the IBSA Blind Football website here. Entries can be made via ISAS, IBSA’s sport management system.

Teams will arrive on 22 September ahead of training and classification on 23 and 24. The competition will run from 25-28 September and countries will depart on 29 September.

Following requests from potential participating countries, the IBSA Football Committee has brought forward the tournament by one year to allow teams that qualify for the division 1 Championships to prepare properly.

This event is the third blind football European Championships Division 2, with Romania taking the title on both previous occasions. Georgia came second at the first tournament and Greece was the runner-up at the second edition in 2019.

The championships are open to the bottom-placed two teams at the 2019 European Championships and all other teams not qualified for division 1.

A training course for referees will be held on-site immediately before the tournament.