There are fewer than 100 days to go until the 2018 IBSA Blind Football World Championships in Madrid, Spain.

Teams from Europe were the first to qualify after the European Championships in Berlin, Germany, in 2017.

Here we take a look at Turkey’s road to Madrid and their current position of sixth place in the world rankings.
 

• The Turkish Blind Football National Team was created in 2007 and is governed by the Türkiye Görme Engelliler Spor Federasyonu.
• Turkey competed at their first World Championships in 2014 in Toyko, Japan, after finishing third at the 2013 European Championship in Loano, Italy. Despite finishing 11th in Tokyo, Turkey bounced back the following year by winning their first European crown. They beat Russia 1-0 in the final.
• The team however had a tougher time qualifying for this year’s World Championships. Their draw against Spain in the group stage of the 2017 Euros meant they missed the semi-finals by just one point. They finished third in their group, unable to defend their title. However, they had a second chance to book their ticket for Madrid in their fifth-place game against Germany. The former European champions triumphed 2-1 on penalties following a goalless draw at full time.
• Turkey recently hosted the first Istanbul Blind Football Cup and were crowned champions. They went undefeated and beat European silver medallists Spain 2-1 in the final.
• Turkey’s budding striker Hasan Satay will be the player to watch at the World Championships. He fired in eleven goals at Berlin 2017, seven of which were scored in a 9-2 triumph over Georgia in the group stage. His impressive tally landed him the Top Goal Scorer Award.

 
The 2018 IBSA Blind Football World Championships will feature 16 of the world’s best teams. As well as the title on offer the competition is also an important step on the road to the Tokyo 2020 Paralympics.
 
After the Opening Ceremony on 7 June, the group stages get underway on 8 June. The quarter finals and play-offs begin on 13 June with the final taking place on 17 June.