Blind football

Can the visually impaired play football? It sounds impossible, but blind football, also known as football 5-a-side, is a popular sport that has been featured at the Paralympics since 2004. Today, several of the greatest football clubs in the world have integrated blind football teams, and the sport is rapidly growing all over the world.… Read More » Blind football

Can the visually impaired play football? It sounds impossible, but blind football, also known as football 5-a-side, is a popular sport that has been featured at the Paralympics since 2004.

Today, several of the greatest football clubs in the world have integrated blind football teams, and the sport is rapidly growing all over the world.

ORIGIN

Blind football has been played at special schools for the visually impaired for many years in many different countries. When the International Blind Sports Federation (IBSA) undertook the task of drawing up a set of shared rules for blind football, the development of the sport took off.

National football leagues and continental championships arose, and the first world championship took place in 1998.

Brazil has long been a dominant force within blind football with five world championship titles, followed by Argentina’s two.

Today, Brazil is facing growing competition as some of the world’s strongest football nations are also investing heavily in blind football: Argentina, Spain, France and England as well as countries such as Russia, Turkey, Iran, Morocco and Japan.