World Goalball Championships - Sheffield 2010

Welcome to the official website for the Goalball World Championships 2010. For the next six months you will have direct access to the very latest event news and information, supporting you in your preparation to, and experience during the Championships.


We will be adding more information over the coming weeks.


17th June - 25th June 2010

The 9th Goalball World Championships will be held on 17th June to 25th June 2010. Brought to the UK for the first time in the history of the Championships the event will be played in the vibrant sporting city of Sheffield, South Yorkshire.


World Goalball Championships 2010 Tournament Schedule
Tournament Schedule
17th June Official Arrival Day for Teams
18th June Official Training Day & Opening Event
19th June Official Training Day
20th June Competition Day 1
21st June Competition Day 2
22nd June Competition Day 3
23rd June Competition Day 4
24th June Competition Day 5
25th June Competition Day 6 & Closing Party
26th June Official Departure Day

As the first national city of sport in the UK, Sheffield has an enviable choice of world-class sports facilities and regularly plays host to major international sporting events making it the ideal location for these Championships.


The city looks forward to welcoming the 28 international teams, players, coaches, officials, volunteers and spectators and is excited about playing its part in creating the best and most successful Championships to date.


Goalball is exclusively a sport for athletes with a visual impairment, it is a Paralympic Sport and as such will be part of the London 2012 Paralympic Games.


For your opportunity to get involved with this sport and to be part of this prestigious sporting event in the run up to London 2012, please keep follwing this site for further information on how to register your interest.


We are thrilled to be sharing this experience with you and look forward to keeping you up to date with all the latest from the Goalball World Championships Sheffield 2010.



Latest News

Player receiving a medal

Sheffield to Capitalise on Goalball Success

Wednesday 7th of July 2010


Sheffield is set to reap the benefits of hosting a successful World Goalball Championships, say the team who brought the event to the city.

Goalball, a sport developed for the blind or partially sighted, hosted its ninth World Championships in Sheffield at the English Institute of Sport last week with 28 teams coming from as far afield as Australia, Iran, USA and Brazil.

And while Lithuania men and China women walked away with gold medals – and a spot at the 2012 Paralympic Games in London – it was Sheffield that impressed the most.

Event Director John Timms said: “The Championships ran very smoothly all the way through. The majority of these teams will qualify for the 2012 Paralympic Games and we have put ourselves in an excellent position to host them for training camps and pre-Games practice matches.

“Staging a tournament of this size isn’t possible without a strong team of volunteers, sponsors and people with experience of managing events. Over the years Sheffield has built up all these areas to a position where we’re second to none in the United Kingdom.”

Jim Leaske, President of the International Blind Sports Federation for Goalball, said: “We have hosted the Championships around the world since the first one in 1978.

“Sheffield impressed us in the bid process with its facilities and knowledge and it delivered an event that far exceeded our expectations. I have no doubts that several of the teams would want to return to the city.”

Councillor Roger Davison Sheffield City Council’s Cabinet Member for Culture, Sport and Tourism, said: “I know that we have found the opportunity to meet key people from Paralympic associations from across the world invaluable.

“The comments we have received about Sheffield and our facilities have been very positive. It makes attracting training camps to the city a bit easier when the teams have already experienced a venue such as the English Institute of Sport.”

Lucy Crickmore, from UK Sport, which supported the event with up to £234,000 from UK Sport’s Lottery funded World Class Events Programme, said:

“Sheffield has a reputation for hosting world-class events. We are always very confident in the city’s ability when we bid for a Championship or tournament of this stature.”

Great Britain, which has a relatively new Goalball programme, was represented by both men’s and women’s teams. But despite showing promising signs they struggled against more experienced and powerful opponents.

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