On a beautiful sunny Wednesday we were lucky enough to attend a blind football match between the Middlesex and West Brom teams, held at Middlesex University. A large number showed up around the pitch to watch the game. Many had heard about the match in advance, but a good deal of people were simply passing by and were struck by the skills on display - this was brilliant as one aspect of the match was to raise awareness of the Paralympic sport in advance of 2012.
Some of the players in actionLast year, the Greater London Fund for the Blind provided Middlesex F.A. with a grant of close to £4,000, which they used to fund coaching and physiotherapy for the players, as well as venue hire and various other materials. This money not only went to the men’s team, but also towards funding a blind youth football club, which will provide the adult team with talented players in the years to come! This made the match extra-special for us, as it was great to see such an inspiring example of what the money provided by our generous donors can do for people.
It was clear straight away that an exciting match was in store as players tackled, passed and shot at goal. The speed at which the game was played was another surprise for me, as imagining myself in that same position I could only conclude that I would inch along by the wall and run away when I heard the ball approaching! There was no such hesitation shown by the players and their confidence and talent were astounding.
Two goals were scored in the first 10 minutes by Michael Smith of the Middlesex team, who will soon be training with the England Development squad and was undoubtedly one of the stars of the match. His second goal was particularly impressive as it was scored single-handedly from a corner! He later completed a hat-trick which would seal the Middlesex team’s victory, but not before a well-deserved goal from the West Brom team.
Blind Football- A Quick Guide
While watching the teams warming up, and the subsequent match, we were able to observe several aspects of the game that are unique to blind football.
- Firstly, every member of the team (apart from the goalkeeper) wears a blindfold. This is one way of making the game fair, as the players have various sight capabilities and so the blindfolds ensure a level playing field (pun intended!).
Goalkeepers are sighted, but that doesn't stop the goals!
- Second, the goalkeepers are sighted. When I learned this I really did wonder how blind strikers would fare against not only sighted, but skilled, goalkeepers. However, we needn’t have worried about a lack of action on the pitch, as the scoreboard would show.
- The ball used in the game contains noisemakers that rattle as the ball is kicked or thrown. This allows players to use their hearing to figure out where on the pitch the ball is. The players also used the boards surrounding the pitch as a way of sounding out where the ball was, and throws from the goalkeepers were often bounced against the walls to alert the players as to exactly where ball was heading.
- Coaches stand behind the goals of the opponent’s team and shout directions and encouragement. Their instructions are sometimes precise to the point of telling players which foot to use to kick the ball!
Players must shout "Voy" when tackling
- Verbal communication is extremely important, to the point where not using your voice to alert other players when you’re planning a tackle is a foul (known as “no voy”).
- Leading on from this, the crowd are asked to be completely quiet while the match is in progress (but cheering is welcomed when a goal is scored!). The organisers of the event were wearing “Official Silencer” t-shirts, although they didn’t have to do much to quiet the crowd who immediately caught on to importance of sounds on the pitch.
You can have see how these rules work in practice by having a look at our slideshow below. There will be more photos and videos, including interviews with the captains, added to the site over the coming days, so be sure the check back for updates!
