Meet the man who introduced blind football to Uganda
Blind football is all-pervasive in Uganda – a country set to host the first-ever African Blind Soccer Championship in 2020.
In the first two weeks of August, blind football fans travelled more than 10,000 miles from Ethiopia to Kampala in order to watch the semi-final against Ethiopia on the banks of the Nile River at the Assebawe Stadium.
As a blind football fan myself, I’m so proud to have witnessed such scenes of unbridled passion.
I, however, know that there’s still a long way to go before this sport is made available to blind individuals.
As a child, I was forced to play football due to the fact that I was born with a condition called optic neuropathy, which means my eyesight is impaired.
My vision impairment has made football a very special sport to me, and I’ve seen blind football in a different light.
Many athletes compete in blind football, even blind athletes like myself.
If you are interested in how blind football is played and how I’ll soon be able to see the game on a screen, stay tuned.
What are the main conditions that blind people need to meet to play blind football and how does one play?
In order to play blind football, one must have a vision impairment which causes a limitation in the field of vision.
This condition causes a loss of colour vision, which means there will be no difference between the blue and the white in the middle.
These colours are called anaglyphs, and according to the International Blind Soccer Federation, no blind soccer player can play in this way, because it is technically impossible.
This is why, most blind people who want to play in this sport need a prescription to legally allow them to play.
One of the main reasons one might opt to play blind football is because of the fact that
