Football 7-a-side at the Rio 2016 Paralympics: All you need to know

Some of the players in Great Britain's 7-a-side team used to play for academies related to Premier League football clubs before their respective injuries

How does it work?

Football 7-a-side at the Paralympics is for players who have cerebral palsy or an acquired brain injury.

Each team consists of seven players, the playing field and goalposts are smaller, there is no offside rule, throw-ins are rolled in under arm and matches last 30 minutes per half.

Players are allocated a number between five and eight depending on their degree of impairment, with class five for the highest level of impairment. Each side must maintain a line-up featuring players with varying levels of impairments, and each team of seven must include one athlete from class five or six.

Eight teams will take part in two groups of four, with the top two from each group progressing to the semi-finals.

Great Britain are in a pool with Ireland, Brazil and Ukraine.

Who are the British medal hopes?

GB finished seventh four years ago but England secured a best-ever placing at last year's World Championships at St George's Park, finishing fifth. Only two of the GB team have previous Games experience - former Everton Academy player Michael Barker and Scotland's Jonathan Paterson.

Who are the other challengers?

Russia, the defending champions, and Ukraine, who won silver four years ago, are top of the world rankings. Hosts Brazil, featuring star player Jan Francisco Brito da Costa, and the Netherlands, who won gold three times between 1988 and 1996, will be aiming to spoil the party.

Did you know?

The Great Britain team for Rio is made up of players from England, Scotland and Northern Ireland.

ParalympicsGB London 2012 medals

None.