Ireland national cerebral palsy football team
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| Federation | Football Association of Ireland (FAI) |
|---|---|
| Head coach | Paul Smyth |
| Asst coach | Alvin Rouse |
| Captain | Joseph Markey |
| IFCPF ranking | 8 (December 2024) |
| Highest IFCPF ranking | 5 (2017) |
| Lowest IFCPF ranking | 8 (December 2024) |
Ireland Men's national cerebral palsy football team represents the Republic of Ireland in men's international cerebral palsy (CP) football.[1] They have participated in several Paralympic Games and World Championships. They have won two bronze medals and a silver at the Paralympics. Their best finish at the World Championships was first at the 1982 edition in Denmark.
Paralympics Ireland manages the national team.[2] In 2011, members of the Irish national team participated in a study that looking at endurance and running performance as part of a researcher's efforts to understand the fairness of cerebral palsy football classification.[3] In October 2014, an IFCPF coaching workshop was held in Wales to try to further develop the sport, with participants from Wales, England and the Republic of Ireland.[4] While Ireland was active in participating on the Paralympic and World Championship level by 2016, the country did not have a national championships to support national team player development.[5]
In 2016, after getting an endorsement by the World AntiDoping Agency (WADA), the IFCPF Anti-Doping Code was formally amended to allow for out of competition testing. This was done through a WADA approved Whereabouts Programme managed through ADAMS. Drawing from players in a Registered Testing Pool, players from this country were included ahead of the 2016 Summer Paralympics in Rio.[6]
