Governing body funds Finland’s women’s CP football World Cup debut

Finland’s women’s CP football team will compete at the World Cup for the first time, with the international governing body covering its participation fee, Yle reports. The fee amounts to tens of thousands of euros.

The tournament is being held in Atlanta, United States, this week and next. Finland’s opening match is against the host nation on Thursday. The United States is ranked second in the world.

Six of the national team’s 10 players are registered with Ylämyllyn Yllätys, a football club in Liperi, North Karelia. The club also provides support specifically for CP football, team manager Jutta Kurki told Yle.

CP football is an adapted form of football for people with mobility impairments caused by brain injuries. Women’s matches are played with five players per team on a smaller pitch, and there is no offside rule.

Kurki founded the women’s national team, known as CP-Helmarit, two years ago. Its players include her daughter, Minttu Kurki, who had a stroke, and Taika Suviranta, who had a cerebral infarction in 2022. Suviranta said she had to relearn how to speak and move before returning to football.

Suviranta and goalkeeper Tuuli Aaltonen hope their experiences can encourage other people with disabilities to find enjoyment in sport. “Even with limitations and illnesses, you can still do all kinds of things,” Aaltonen said.

Kurki said the team had watched footage of its opponents on YouTube and would aim to win every match. She said CP football’s effort to become a Paralympic sport in the coming years had helped bring the team to the World Cup, which the organisers want to showcase the level of competition.