Blind football, unlike other Para sports, is played by people with a visual impairment, with a low or zero perception of light or shades. This category is called B1.
What is Visual Impairment?
Visual impairment is “any restriction or lack of vision. There are different levels of vision loss, and they go from partial loss to blindness (total loss of vision) (Reina Vaillo, Sierra, García, Fernández, p.24). “While, nowadays, impairments are seen as a social phenomenon, from a medical perspective, it’s possible to determine a hereditary or acquired origin of it” (Victoria Maldonado, Jorge A. 2013. El modelo social de la discapacidad).
Regarding the participation of impaired people in sports, it wasn’t until 1996 that the International Blind Sports Federation (IBSA) created a committee that would be able to unify some of the rules from conventional football and FIFA in order to make it an official Para sport.
After this, the 2007 Rio de Janeiro Parapan American Games included, for the first time in history, blind football.
BLIND FOOTBALL RULES
A Blind football team is made up of four visually impaired players, one goalkeeper, one guide, and one coach. Para athletes must cover their eyes with patches and wear goggles. Furthermore, they have to constantly shout the word “VOY” (Spanish for “I go”) in order to take the ball off the opponents. The goalkeeper, the guide, and the coach must serve as assistants on the field and are distributed along three parts of the field, and their functions are:
Goalkeeper: is the only player on the field without any visual impairment. Aside from catching the ball, its role consists of guiding players on the defensive side of the team.
Coach: is in the middle of the field, behind the lateral fence, from where he/she gives instructions to the team.
Guide: is behind the opposing team goal to give directions to the players, with the objective of helping them to score goals. It’s in the last third of the field.
Remember to keep it quiet during the game!
#DidYouKnow that blind football is played with a sound ball that allows players to know where it is through sound.
Víctor Silva, Chilean team player
LATIN AMERICAN REFERENTS
Argentina leads this sport; their team, known as “Los Murciélagos” (The Bats), are the number one in the world. Brazil has won 4 consecutive gold medals since Rio 2007. Both teams will be at #Santiago2023.
The Chilean team is known for its individual and collective growth. Most of its players are currently signed by teams of the Brazilian league, the most competitive league in the world.
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