Watch: Uganda’s blind football league score against adversity

euronews (in English)

Jagwe Muzafaru is visually impaired and founded the Blind Football League to give people like him a taste of the beautiful game.

Transcript

00:00When people have seen what we are doing, it first goes to their mind and says,

00:07how can a blind person play?

00:09So they come around and they say, even the blind can play football.

00:13Sports is one of the first solutions to the mental state.

00:18The physical exercises that we do before the game starts,

00:21before any practice starts, is already a solution to their mental stability.

00:26That is going to create unity among the blind,

00:30especially when it comes to team building.

00:33It encourages inclusivity of people with disabilities in games.

00:38It has given me an opportunity to show the world

00:42that in this particular area there exists a community of visually impaired people.

00:48My name is Diago Mzafal. I'm the founder and chairman of Blind Football Uganda.

00:56Blind Football Uganda is a parapsport organization that specifically governs,

01:05develops and promotes the game of blind football.

01:08Domestically, we are fully recognized by the Uganda Paralympic Committee

01:12and we are fully recognized by the International Blind Sports Association.

01:17For blind football, we had a stick of maggot on the continent.

01:23One is the ball. This is the ball.

01:26So the ball we use to play makes a rotating sound

01:29and they are not sold in Africa generally and they are not accessible.

01:35Another is the eye shades, the standard one.

01:38So we use these ones. They are called eye shades that cover the eyes.

01:46I got the inspiration of starting blind football

01:49after watching Rio games in 2016.

01:54I admired and started to search around to see if we can also have it in Uganda.

02:00So I ended up developing a blind football championship that I organize annually.

02:05It brings all those teams and gives them a competing opportunity.

02:10All teams we have in the country come in one place.

02:13The initiative has grown tremendously.

02:16In 2021, I introduced the sport, but it was specifically in only two areas and two universities.

02:24We are no longer now in just universities.

02:26Now we are in secondary schools and then primary schools.

02:30So now we have 12 to 13 teams spread all over the country.

02:37We had six teams that competed in group stage format

02:42and the strong spirits from Kampala emerged as the winner of the 2024 Blind Football Championship.

02:52My first reaction about the Blind Football Initiative was a great outlook towards it

02:57that is going to create unity among blinds, especially when it comes to team building,

03:05encourages inclusivity of people with disabilities in games.

03:12Participation in this tournament actually helps me think that I am not left out

03:22and I'm talented like any other person who is sighted.

03:28And actually it also makes me feel that there are some things I can do

03:35that those who are able-bodied cannot.

03:38Blind football has actually brought a sense of sensitization to the community when they see us.

03:45We are an organization that is big on inclusion and we love to give opportunities to the visually impaired.

03:52I cannot express how much the tournament had an effect on the players and the families of the players.

04:01We saw parents just yearning to come out to the field and support their children.

04:06They would not believe their eyes watching children do what they thought they cannot do.

04:14Playing football with others that have a visual impairment or are blind,

04:18there is this kind of togetherness. We are the same. We are blind.

04:23So the game brings you together, especially the youth that were scattered.

04:29By now football brings that community back.

04:32My personal hopes for the next generation of blind footballers is that it's going to be massive

04:37because it's just the beginning. We hope that in the near future it's going to increase and be big and better.

04:49I think the biggest challenge that I've faced being visually impaired

04:53is the protectionism that I faced with my family.

04:57And then over time I've come to be independent in whatever I'm doing now.

05:03What this tournament means to me is also a gauge of our growth.

05:07It tells us how far we have moved, how far we are going,

05:11what we have done in the past, how we can improve play and how we can improve performance.

05:17The way I envision blind football domestically is having a competitive league

05:23which can run for three to six months.

05:26Having our own pitch where we can play, where we can train from.

05:30If you have become visually impaired, it doesn't limit you from doing other things in life.

05:36We have visually impaired doctors and runners.

05:40So even if you have lost your sight, you can still go on with your normal life.

05:45You can do everything. You are not limited in any way or the other.

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