Noisy ball, silent spectatorsNPC pilots football for the blind The Namibia Paralympic Committee (NPC) is piloting football for the blind in the Khomas Region, which they will later extend to Oshana, Kavango East and Zambezi. The committee representing disabled athletes in Namibia has established three teams of blind football players in the Khomas Region and one team each in three other regions.
Blind football is an adaptation of football for athletes with visual impairments. Teams are made up of four blind outfield players and a sighted goalkeeper.
To ensure fair competition, all outfield players wear blindfolds. Teams can have off-field guides to assist them.
NPC treasurer Nicky Nghumono said Namibia received the go-ahead from the International Blind Sports Federation (IBSA) in February. The NPD is a registered member of the IBSA and is also affiliated to the African body for blind sports.
“When we came back from the 2016 Paralympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, we went into the regions to find players and form teams,” he said.
The NPC is busy building more teams and will soon select a national team to compete at international competitions.
“Since we got the green light, our teams have just been competing among themselves at their schools in the respective regions,” said Nghumono.
Nghumono said even though they are still new at the game, Namibia has already received invitations from other African countries to play friendly matches.
The NPC received 10 footballs and 10 blindfolds from the international body, which is pushing them to grow the sport code in the country.
Michael Hamukwaya from the NPC added that they decided to introduce the sport in order to attract other disabled athletes to the organisation and to get them involved in sport.
Para-athletes coached by Hamukwaya have been doing exceptionally well in international competitions.
He said not all disabled people can be good runners but they could make good football players.
Hamukwaya said there are many visually impaired people who are just sitting at home having nothing to do and this will motivate them to become active.
The sport caters to men and women alike.
“The competition we had a few weeks ago was received very well. There are many eager athletes in the region and we want to groom them,” he said.
The NPC still needs to set up regional and national structures to kick-start the programme but with the help of IBSA they are positive that it will not be long till they have a full-fledged and active code in the country.
“Finance is a problem when it comes to sport in Namibia but we are positive that with proper marketing and planning we will get many sponsors on board,” he said.
Blind football is played on a rectangular field that is 40 metres long and 20 metres wide. The whole length of the pitch must be covered by kickboards to prevent the ball from going out of play. The ball has a noisemaker inside that helps players orient themselves. As a result, spectators must remain silent while watching the game until a goal is scored.
The duration of the match is 50 minutes, divided into two 25-minute halves.
–Additional reporting Nampa
LIMBA MUPETAMI
Blind football is an adaptation of football for athletes with visual impairments. Teams are made up of four blind outfield players and a sighted goalkeeper.
To ensure fair competition, all outfield players wear blindfolds. Teams can have off-field guides to assist them.
NPC treasurer Nicky Nghumono said Namibia received the go-ahead from the International Blind Sports Federation (IBSA) in February. The NPD is a registered member of the IBSA and is also affiliated to the African body for blind sports.
“When we came back from the 2016 Paralympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, we went into the regions to find players and form teams,” he said.
The NPC is busy building more teams and will soon select a national team to compete at international competitions.
“Since we got the green light, our teams have just been competing among themselves at their schools in the respective regions,” said Nghumono.
Nghumono said even though they are still new at the game, Namibia has already received invitations from other African countries to play friendly matches.
The NPC received 10 footballs and 10 blindfolds from the international body, which is pushing them to grow the sport code in the country.
Michael Hamukwaya from the NPC added that they decided to introduce the sport in order to attract other disabled athletes to the organisation and to get them involved in sport.
Para-athletes coached by Hamukwaya have been doing exceptionally well in international competitions.
He said not all disabled people can be good runners but they could make good football players.
Hamukwaya said there are many visually impaired people who are just sitting at home having nothing to do and this will motivate them to become active.
The sport caters to men and women alike.
“The competition we had a few weeks ago was received very well. There are many eager athletes in the region and we want to groom them,” he said.
The NPC still needs to set up regional and national structures to kick-start the programme but with the help of IBSA they are positive that it will not be long till they have a full-fledged and active code in the country.
“Finance is a problem when it comes to sport in Namibia but we are positive that with proper marketing and planning we will get many sponsors on board,” he said.
Blind football is played on a rectangular field that is 40 metres long and 20 metres wide. The whole length of the pitch must be covered by kickboards to prevent the ball from going out of play. The ball has a noisemaker inside that helps players orient themselves. As a result, spectators must remain silent while watching the game until a goal is scored.
The duration of the match is 50 minutes, divided into two 25-minute halves.
–Additional reporting Nampa
LIMBA MUPETAMI