The Dutch amputee football team, with Sheng wearing number 14. Photo from Sheng Groen’s personal archive. Sheng Groen, a bachelor student in Economics and Policy, is to join the Euro championships amputee football starting in France this weekend.
Groen has been playing amputee football for about twelve years now, he says. ‘I have a prosthetic leg, not from birth, but from a very early age. Initially, I competed in a regular football team as a goalkeeper. However, as everyone became older and, thus, stronger, I was no longer able to match the guys with two legs.’
‘We joined the Nations League for the first time last year and qualified for the Euro championships. We trained a little more than normal this last month and on the KNVB campus instead of in Vleuten. We also played two practice matches. We are ready, but we are in a challenging pool.’
Amputee football is a niche discipline in the Netherlands. According to Groen, there are many more players abroad. Countries like England, Poland, and Turkey are superpowers. We compete with Spain and Italy, the second tier within our sport. Our goal in this competition is to make it to the top six.’
Amputee football is akin to regular football: there are two teams, two goals and one ball. The field is slightly shorter, and the teams are made up of seven players who play a match in two halves, each 25 minutes long. Groen: ‘And all players have only one leg, except the goalkeeper, who has two but has only one arm.’
All Amputee Football Euro Championship matches (from 1 to 8 June 2024) are broadcast live through the European Amputee Football Federation Facebook page.