How the goalball world rankings work
The International Blind Sports Federation (IBSA) ranks national goalball teams, men and women separately. Unlike most team rankings, points are earned game by game, not by final standing.
Each game is worth: result × importance × opponent's strength × global strength × how recent it is.
- A win in normal time is worth 3; a win in extra time or penalties 2; a draw or an extra-time loss 1; a normal-time loss 0.
- Games at the Paralympics and World Championships count double an ordinary international game (2.5 for their finals).
- Beating the world number 1 is worth more than beating a team ranked 50th.
- Games older than four years drop out; older games count for less.
Rankings come out every month.
The formula for one game
Points = Game Result × Game Importance × Opposing Team Strength × Global Strength Score × Game Weight
| Factor | Values |
|---|---|
| Game result | 3 (win in regulation), 2 (win in extra time or penalties), 1 (loss in extra time or penalties, or a draw where no winner is needed), 0 (loss in regulation) |
| Game importance | 2.5 (World Championships or Paralympic final), 2 (other World Championships or Paralympic games), 1.5 (finals of international and qualification tournaments), 1 (other international and qualification games) |
| Opposing team strength | 100 for the world number 1, 99 for number 2, falling by one a place down to 62; 40 for teams ranked 61st or lower |
| Global strength score | Between 0.05 and 1.000 (see below) |
| Game weight | 100% (last 12 months), 75% (13 to 24), 50% (25 to 36), 25% (37 to 48), 0% (older) |
The opponent's strength uses the latest monthly ranking.
Global strength score
After each Paralympic Games and World Championships, teams are put in finishing order. The winner gets 1.000, and the factor falls in equal steps down the field: with 16 teams, 2nd gets 0.9375, 3rd 0.8750, and 16th 0.0625. A team that did not take part gets 0.0500. A team's global strength score is the average over the last two Paralympic Games and the last two World Championships.
The monthly total
Ranking points = the team's total points from the last 48 months + its average points per game over those 48 months.
Which tournaments count
- At least three international teams in each category, and one team per country.
- Played under full IBSA rules, with IBSA-accredited referees.
- Open to all countries (unless part of a qualification route).
- Results sent to IBSA within 15 days.
- Tournaments sanctioned by the IPC, regional Paralympic committees or IBSA count automatically.
A worked example
Made up to show the arithmetic. India's men beat a team ranked 20th (strength 81) in normal time at an international tournament this year. India's global strength score is 0.05 (it has not played the last Paralympics or World Championships):
3 × 1 × 81 × 0.05 × 100% = 12.15 points.
The same win at the Paralympic Games by a team with a global strength of 0.75 would be worth 3 × 2 × 81 × 0.75 = 364.5.
Gaps in the document
- Ranks 40 to 60: strength "decreasing between 98 and 62" covers ranks 3 to 39, and ranks 61 and below get 40. The document does not say what teams ranked 40th to 60th get.
- Whose global strength? The score is "used as a multiplier for that team in all game ranking point computations". This explainer reads it as the scoring team's own score; the IPC news report of the earlier system used the opponent's region instead. Confirm with IBSA.
- An earlier IPC news report of the first system used different importance values (0.5 to 3.5) and a regional strength factor. The 2019 policy replaces these.
Variations
| Ranking | Covered here |
|---|---|
| Men's and women's goalball | Yes |
| Youth goalball | No |