The World Cup stage, on which Lionel Messi and other international stars have dazzled with their magic, may have offered the potential to stretch imaginations even further.
For example, imagine how Messi might play if he were an amputee.
Or if he were dependent on a wheelchair. Or blind, or deaf, or a person with dwarfism, or suffering from any disability that precluded him from playing traditional soccer -- but opened up the world to adaptive sports for athletes with disabilities.
Many of America's elite disabled soccer players were eager to demonstrate their skills during the global soccer tournament co-hosted by the United States, Mexico and Canada. Advocates sought help to make it happen.
But the vision will officially fade when Argentina plays Spain for the 2026 FIFA men’s World Cup trophy Sunday, July 19 at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey.
Adaptive soccer -- adapted to allow anyone to participate --has lingered in the shadows.
“I think it's a huge missed opportunity,’’ Nico Calabria, a four-time captain of the U.S. Men's Amputee Soccer Team, told USA TODAY Sports. “You missed a big marketing opportunity, and there's not another one coming around.’’
Riley Johnson, who as a member of the U.S. Power Soccer team plays with a modified power wheelchair, said the World Cup could have increased the awareness of a form of soccer few people have seen.
“I talk to people about Power Soccer all the time,’’ Johnson told USA TODAY Sports, “and 99% of the time they've never heard of it.’’
Lexi Heer, another member of the U.S. Power Soccer team, added, "I think the beautiful part of the game is just the passing when everyone gets it going. I mean, same thing in the able-bodied sport...When you see a really great passing sequence that leads to a goal, it's just beautiful.''
Adapted soccer produces viral moments
Calabria, 32, was born without a right leg. But with the use of crutches, he played for the boys' high school team at Concord-Carlisle High School in Concord, Massachusetts.
In 2012, off an incoming corner kick, Calabria scored a goal with a perfectly executed scissor kick.
The game was being filmed.
A video clip was posted online.
Calabria's goal went viral.
Almost 13 years later, here came the World Cup. Calabria lives less than an hour’s drive from Gillette Stadium, which would host seven World Cup matches. And perhaps a demonstration involving Calabria, if not at Gillette Stadium, a nearby field or at one of the official World Cup fan zones?
But Calabria never found a place on or near the World Cup stage to show off his powerful left foot or his juggling skills.
But like the viral clip of Calabria's scissor kick goal, adaptive soccer has produced other compelling moments. Like a video clip that captures the pinpoint passing of Power Soccer. Or an improbable goal during a Blind Soccer game during which the ball rattles or jingles to help the players locate it on the field.
'A fraction of what soccer can be'
Joslynn Bigelow is president of the United Adaptive Soccer Association in Oregon. In 2023, she won the third annual US Soccer ADAPTandTHRIVE Disability Award.
She is an able-bodied woman who seeks opportunity for the disabled and was convinced she'd found it at the World Cup. In 2024, as a key member of the U.S. Soccer disability committee, she presented recommendations that included:
-- Exhibition matches and competitive matches for the disabled will be scheduled around the World Cup dates and organized by US Soccer, FIFA and the local organizing committees of host cities.
-- Disabled soccer players will be present in pregame walkouts and other match-day opportunities during World Cup games.
-- Events will be held in host cities where disability soccer leaders can collaborate on enhancing awareness, education and opportunities to grow the number of disability soccer participants worldwide.
During 2026, according to Bigelow and others in adaptive soccer, here is what materialized:
The Seattle local organizing committee for the 2026 World Cup hosted a Blind Soccer tournament featuring teams from the United States, Kazakhstan and Peru three weeks before the World Cup began. Michael Holmes, CEO of the U.S. Association for Blind Athletes, said the estimated crowd of 175 people was the largest to watch a Blind Soccer match involving the U.S. team.
Amputee soccer players held an exhibition at the US Soccer House in Venice, Calif., during the World Cup, according to Dan Broome, Vice President of the American Amputee Soccer Association. Broome said soccer players with the Special Olympics also played at the US Soccer House.
Said Bigelow, “We brought the world to North America for the biggest celebration of the game and still showed people only a fraction of what soccer can be.’’
FIFA responds, US Soccer silent
FIFA, the worldwide governing body for soccer, runs the World Cup held every four years. When asked about opportunities for disabled soccer players during the 2026 World Cup, a FIFA spokesman said the organization has “done a lot to promote accessibility in sports for those living with various disabilities.’’
The spokesman said that the organization included a Disability Football Toolkit and a seminar on accessibility ahead of the World Cup.
“I think we are also promoting a number of different causes at the World Cup,’’ he said, citing education and peace.
In December, the inaugural FIFA Peace Prize was awarded to President Donald Trump
FIFA has supported adaptive soccer with an undisclosed amount of money from its robust coffers. The spokesman did not provide specifics.
US Soccer did not respond to multiple emails requesting information for this story. But the organization's support for elite disabled soccer players goes beyond financial support.
The Arthur M. Blank U.S. Soccer National Training Center, a $250 million, 200-acre complex in Fayetteville, Georgia, that opened in May, includes a special court for Power Soccer. Riley Johnson, a 13-time national team player in Power Soccer, said US Soccer consulted with the adaptive soccer community when designing the facility.
“We got everything we asked for and then some with how they built that facility around accessibility for all,’’ Johnson said.
What happens next
Holmes, CEO of the U.S. Association for Blind Athletes, raved about what Seattle local organizing committee did for the blind soccer players during the three-team tournament in May. But he also said, "I think all of us in the disability soccer community had slightly higher hopes on what we would be able to display and do in the disability soccer side."
Broome was effusive about the amputee soccer demonstration at the US Soccer House, where able-bodied people were offered crutches and a chance to try the sport. But Calabria said it feels like adaptive soccer is “fighting over crumbs.’’
“I do think it comes down to money and whether or not these types of (adaptive) sports can become profitable or get a larger,’’ Calabria said. “... We have to have attention. And that's why the lack of promotion of these events, which would've been the cheapest and easiest thing for US soccer to do, I think is a huge missed opportunity.’’
But the opportunity “is not entirely gone,’’ said Bigelow, even though her recommendations for the role of adaptive soccer for the 2026 World Cup largely failed to materialize.
“What happens next will determine whether inclusion was simply tournament language or an actual commitment,’’ Bigelow said. “…Adaptive soccer does not need another brief inspirational cameo - it needs a permanent place in the game.”
Editor's note: This story has been updated to correctly identify Blind Soccer.
Source: USA Today
