Blindfootball, a new look at disability

- Décembre 2020 - 

Blindfootball is a sport for people with visual impairments (blind or visually impaired). Blindfootball was born in Spain in the 1920s, Brazil formalized the game to 5 players against 5 in the 1960s and organized a first national tournament in 1974. Julien Zéléla introduced this sport in France and created the first club in France with two other people in 1987, the AS Cécifoot Saint Mandé (a club in the state of Val de Marne). Blind since birth and fan of soccer, he became president of the AS Cécifoot Saint-Mandé in 1995, he is considered as the precursor of the blindfootball in France. The Val-de-Marne club outside of Paris, is one of the best French clubs. With numerous titles in the French Championship and in the French Cup, Zéléla's team is constantly growing. Since the beginning of his presidency, he has fought to make blindfootball a recognized sport in France. 

“I arrived in Saint Mandé’s town, I found a blank page, it was me who wrote all the regulations we use today. I wanted the blindfootball to look like soccer. I fought from the beginning to build this discipline and to create clubs, it paid off since in 1998, the blindfootball is officially recognized in France. In September of the same year, I joined the International Committee of Blindfootball (International Blind Sport Association) until 2013,” said Julien. 

Regardless of the disability, one must live a normal life

All blindfootball players (except the goalkeeper) are visually impaired, some were born blind, others lost the use of their eyes during childhood. Living with disability is not easy. But solutions exist to help. A simple white cane helps a visually impaired person walk safely along the street and guide dogs are trained to help with multiple tasks. Many technological advances have been made in recent years to remove the burden of visual impairment and to enable blind and visually impaired people to adapt and continue to live without difficulty. Adhesive relief paste can be used to create markings on furniture, on the floor or anywhere in the house. In everyday life, other useful objects have been invented, such as audible medical thermometers, a writing guide for chequebook that makes it easier to write letters and often has a signature guide to easily sign documents.

On the field, no technologies are allowed to help the players. They rely primarily on their hearing and know where to move as if eyesight wasn’t needed for the game indeed, they show it’s not.  

Rules specific to the sport

Each team is composed of four blindfolded outfield players so that everyone is equally blind and a sighted goalie. A match is divided into two 25-minute’ halves. The ball contains metal plates and bells to make a sound that help players locate its position. Barriers mark off the space to prevent the ball from going out too often. All players who do not have the ball must signal themselves by shouting "VOY" (an Hispanic word meaning “I am coming”, related to the origin of this sport) several times. In the 14-meter-long middle zone, runs the coach yelling instructions to his players. In the offensive zone, corresponding to the 13 meters of the opposing camp, a guide (a person who shouts out the distances) placed behind the goal that guides his attackers so that they can score more easily. Players can be sanctioned with a yellow card in case of fouls or an accumulation of non-signing of the "VOY".

Goalkeeper: rigor and communication

The goalkeeper is limited to an area of 1.5 meters. He cannot go out of this box at the risk of being punished. From this position, he must guide his teammates to help him protect the goal. He is the only one of the team who does not need to signal himself when he moves. During his training, the goalkeeper must learn how to place his defense well in addition to knowing how to stop balls. 

Benjamin Guibal is the goalkeeper of the French U23 team and the Saint Mandé club. He has been working with the visually impaired since 2016. Benjamin had to overcome his anxieties of the beginning to be the support of his team. “During a game, the goalkeeper will talk to his defenders and off the field he will take the temperature. I consider myself responsible for my team and the result. During practice time, you quickly form a bond with your defender(s). You communicate on every play action and bonds are formed quite quickly. They are essentials in the team. I consider my team as my family,” said Benjamin.  

Disability: enjoying life

Watching blind football, provides a new sense of understanding those with disabilities. It is clear that players can fend for themselves, but when they need help, they are not afraid to ask for it. When others offer assistance, it is up to the player to choose whether or not to accept the help.

Awareness is one of the messages that blindfootball wants to put forward. In the club of Saint Mandé, several players, including Benjamin, have participated in awareness-raising to make this sport and this handicap known. With Yvan Wouandji, the most famous player in this discipline, the club of Saint-Mandé has traveled to schools and companies in search of a new perspective.“With the children we do a lot of demonstration. We make passes, penalty kicks, we show the specificities of our sport, explains the goalkeeper. Through awareness-raising, we show that disability is not a barrier. We want people to have another vision of disability, a positive one. Blindfootball is a sport that is too little known. Awareness-raising allows us to promote it.” 

Disability: a glimmer of hope 

When we talk about blindfootball in France, we often hear about a player: Yvan Wouandji. Blind since the age of 10, he has made his blindness a strength in his daily life. Between studies, disability awareness and training with the French blindfootball team, Yvan is a man for whom the future is synonymous with hope. With a busy record of achievements (silver medal at the London Paralympic Games in 2012, European champion in 2011, Sportsman of the Year in 2013 and best player in 2019), Yvan wants to raise awareness of disability. His goal is simple, to convey a message of hope, through various interventions in schools.

“The handicap never discouraged me, when I lost my sight, I had to adapt very quickly. I learned to act daily with my handicap and to be autonomous. Blindfootball is much more than a passion, it’s my life! It brought me everything and made me grow. I built up my character, I refined my mind and it allowed me to meet new people,” said the player. 

The coach: the mental and tactical pillar of the team

In any team, the coach is essential to lead his team to victory. Giving advice, reprimanding the players to improve and encouraging them to give their best, these are the missions of Anthony Bedrossian, the coach of the Saint Mandé team. At the age of 25, he has been a volunteer coach since December 2019. A soccer fan, he discovered blindfootball by chance thanks to a blind friend. “I did all the roles in the team, I was the most experienced, the oldest in the group, this year we needed a coach and I accepted the position” said Anthony.

Designated by people for whom trust is paramount, becoming a coach brings him a lot of human benefits. “I had to adapt because I am neither patient nor organized, but it is an incredible experience” he says. “This discipline is too little known by the general public. Our team is representative of today's society, we have people from all walks of life (young, old, women, men...)”. With the club's motto Sharing is our goal, Anthony hopes to make people understand that it is our differences that unite us. “Together we are stronger, it is therefore important to make ourselves known and to raise awareness among a large number of people in order to make the discipline evolve.”

Growing media coverage

Since 1995, the media began to take a closer interest in the discipline. The first major reports were broadcast on France 5. In 2001, France 2 focused on the French team with his program Les Bleus sans les yeux following the European Championships. The team of C'est pas Sorcier devotes several programs to blindness, Julien Zéléla and his team are the main actors in one episode.

A great nation in the making

In 2002, Julien Zéléla met the Chirac couple and allowed the French team to go to Brazil for the Blindfootball World Cup for the first time. With an arrival a little later than other countries, the French team of blindfootball has a record of achievements that can make you blush. With a team composed mainly of players from the Saint-Mandé club, the French team was double European champion in 2009 and 2011, and then brought home a silver medal at the London Paralympics in 2012. After being crowned European champions twice, Les Bleus failed to realize their dream of a third title at the last edition in Rome, but they were still runners-up to Spain.