Roller soccer

Rollersoccer
Highest governing body Rollersoccer International Federation
First played Early 20th century
Characteristics
Contact Yes
Team members 5 per side
Type Team sport, ball sport, roller sport
Equipment Football (or soccer ball), roller skates, pads
Venue Roller rink, 5 a side football court, Outside sports court
Presence
Country or region UK, U.S. France, Germany, Belgium, Italy, Brazil, Australia
Olympic No
Paralympic No

Roller soccer or roller football is a version of association football played on roller skates.

History

The first verified appearance of the sport was at Forest Gate Roller Rink 1934 in London, United Kingdom, where two teams of female players were filmed for an item on Pathe News. Over a decade later Billboard reported in 1949 that it had been revived in Detroit, having disappeared for more than thirty years.[1] The game re-emerged for inlines in San Francisco in 1995, when a group of friends on in-line skates began playing soccer with a pine cone. They soon switched to using a football.[2] By 1998, it was described as "well established in some areas".[3]

The first Rollersoccer World Cup was held in London in 2003 and again in 2004 whereafter the tournament was rotated around the world with European and National events also emerging.

Since 2006 France has been the country with the most teams in roller soccer world championships. In 2009, it was particularly popular in Marseille, where it was promoted by the Association marseillaise de soutien culturel artistique et sportif (ASMASC), on the grounds that it promoted technical skills, agility and respect.[4] The sport has also been played in Belgium,[5] Australia,[6] and the United Kingdom,[7]

World championship

References

  1. ↑ "Roller soccer at Imlay City", Billboard, 26 February 1949
  2. ↑ "Skating sports roll on", The Vindicator, 9 June 2001, section E, p.1
  3. ↑ Liz Miller, Get Rolling: The Beginner's Guide to In-Line Skating, p.31
  4. ↑ "tout roule pour L'Amscas", 20 minutes, 26 August 2009 (French)
  5. ↑ "Grâce à des jeunes, le roller soccer est une affaire qui roule en Belgique", RTBF, 19 April 2010 (French)
  6. ↑ Eleri Harris, "Clanberra: The Roller-Socceroos", 666 ABC Canberra, 20 December 2011
  7. ↑ Cyrus Sharad, "Get Your Skates On", Time out London, 22 October 2003

External links