Thursday, 14 October 2021 marks World Sight Day – an international day of awareness to focus attention on the global issue of eye health and showcase athletes who are blind or are partially sighted.
In Australia, there are an estimated 1.3 million people with vision loss. Of these, 57,000 people are classified as blind.
Australian Blind Football (ABF) is an initiative of Blind Sports Australia. Working alongside Football Australia and Member Federations to be the recognised national pathway for people who are blind or partially sighted to play football in Australia.
There are two versions of the game:
- Blind Football is played by athletes who are totally blind and are classified as B1. This version of the game is a Paralympic Sport.
- Partially Sighted Futsal is played by athletes with varying degrees of vision loss.
Partially Sighted Futsal will be represented at Football Australia’s taking place on the Gold Coast from 5th – 9th January. The tournament will also serve as an opportunity for Australian Partially Sighted Futsal Head Coach, Stephanie Taylor, to observe new players and select her ³Ô¹ÏÍøÕ¾ Team for upcoming training sessions and tournaments.
The Australian Blind Football team are set to participate in their first international tournament next year at IBSA Asian Blind Football Championships taking place in November, 2022. With both teams looking to qualify through these championships to showcase their talents and compete at the IBSA World Games in Birmingham, due to take place from 18th-27th August 2023.
If you are interested in playing Blind Football in your state or if you’d like to support our Australia Blind Football and Partially Sighted Futsal ³Ô¹ÏÍøÕ¾ Teams, you can .
