They play by the ear to win hearts. Now, Indian blind footballers crave for visibility

Voy, Voy, a player shouts as the ball shoots towards him, alerting the other players – all of them blindfolded, and he kicks the rattling ball towards the goal post.

As he scores a perfect goal, the hushed quietness erupts into cheers from the spectators, guards and trainers.

For the spectators, blind football is a hypnotic game. The voys (all players to shout the word voy when in defensive situations), ball rattles and occasional instructions throughout the adrenaline rushes of dribbling, passes and kicks leave them spellbound, at times reminding themselves that these exceptional players are unable to see.

“This is not like regular football,” says Sunil J Mathew, head coach of the Indian blind football team. “Each side has four blind players and a sighted goalkeeper. Except the keeper, all players will be blindfolded to ensure fair play. A coach will stand behind the attacking goal, directing the forwards, while another coach will stand on the sideline to instruct the midfielders. The sighted goalkeeper organises the defence.”

The gently rattling ball enables players to trace its movements. Unlike traditional football, the game is devoid of throws and bounces. Kick boards placed on the sides of the 40x20 pitch indicate the touchlines. The whole game is designed based on touch, voice and close control.

Under the mentorship of Sunil, who is also the sporting director of Indian Blind Football Federation (IBFF), the Indian blind football team, known as Blue Dolphins, has played six international tournaments, including two Asian Championships, since 2013.

India finished a commendable fifth in the last Asian Championship held in Thailand in October 2019. They defeated Malaysia (world ranking 17), and gave tough fights to China (world ranking 2) and Thailand (world ranking 9).

The blind footballers are not celebrated like mainstream footballers, but that doesn’t stop Sunil from taking forward his mission of promoting the game.

With the help of his team of volunteers, Sunil hand picks players from various parts of the country and trains them in an academy run by a non-governmental organisation - Society for Rehabilitation of Visually Challenged (SRVC) - in Kochi. The organisation, run by Sunil and M C Roy, takes care of players' food and accommodation. Besides, it runs a live orchestra and a telesales centre managed by visually challenged.

“Blind football is one of our projects. We have over 550 to 600 blind footballers from 22 states, mostly from football-crazy Goa and North-East states. Kerala has got a strong team. SRVC and IBFF have coaches in Dehradun, Kolkata, Gujarat and Guwahati to spot and groom talents,” said Sunil, adding that the project will be expanded to Madhya Pradesh and Sikkim. The aim is to cover all states by year-end.

Struggles

India is home to a large number of blind population, but blind football is still at its infancy in the country. Sunil says government support only can make a difference here. “Government support and funding help the game grow in countries like Brazil, Argentina, Japan and England. In India, the government doesn't care about the game. We bank on crowd funding and sponsorship,” he said.

“Most of the players come from poor financial background and they need encouragement and job opportunities,” he said.

Many who donned the Indian jersey are struggling for a government job, and Falhan is one among them.

The 24-year-old from Mattancherry in Kerala's Ernakulam district, who played in Asian Championships in 2015 and 2019, currently works at the SRVC call centre for a monthly salary of Rs 9,000.

“Blind football is popular in other parts of the world, especially Japan. We realised Japanese fans' support to blind football when we played the Asian Championship there in 2015. It was a ticketed event and the supporters were calling out the names of Japan players. In contrast, no one knows us in India. I find it embarrassing to introduce myself as an Indian player," Falhan said, and added that a decent job would be an encouragement for the players. “It can help in the growth of the game in India.”

Women's team in the pipeline

Sunil is aiming to popularise blind football by forming a women's team. In order to prepare the ground, IBFF had organised India's first women's blind football match in 2019. “I hope to form an Indian women's blind football team soon,” he said.

But his immediate aim is to help Indian men's team qualify for the 2024 Paralympics in Paris and the World Championships. “Despite the struggles, we are training hard hoping that one day we will get noticed,” he said.

(Vandana Mohandas is an independent journalist based in Kochi)