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Blind Soccer Takes Off!

In South Sudan, a soccer league for blind athletes is doing well—and growing.

Seven men wearing uniforms reading blind football pose with two coaches in yellow polo shirts.

Light for the World, www.light-for-the-world.org

This 2022 photo shows one of the teams from South Sudan’s Blind Premiere League.

When Jimmy Just Augustin found out he was losing his sight, he gave up something he loved—playing soccer (football). Then, in 2020, he learned that there’s a soccer format for players who are blind. Now age 24, Augustin is the captain of the Kator Blind Football Club in Juba, South Sudan, where he’s earned the nickname Messi after legendary soccer player Lionel Messi.

“Now I play like Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo, like anyone else,” Augustin told Juba in the Making. “As if we weren’t visually impaired, we manage to control the ball, shoot, and score goals.”

The Kator Blind Football Club is one of four blind soccer teams in South Sudan. Together, they make up the nation’s Blind Premiere Football League, which is supported by Light for the World, an organization that works for disability rights. 

Three soccer players in uniform cheer and smile on the soccer field.

Bullen Chol/Light for the World, www.light-for-the-world.org

Blind soccer is somewhat different from traditional soccer. Each team has five members, including the goalkeeper. Four of the players are completely blind. The goalkeeper is partially blind or not blind at all and must communicate with teammates to help them with defense. 

The coach stands on the sidelines and helps guide the players on the field, said Simon Madol Akol, who helped establish blind soccer in South Sudan and is now a head coach. 

“[The coaches] tell them where the ball is, if they are far from it. Turn right! To the left! Run! There is a player in front of you! Step back!” Akol explained to Juba in the Making.

The ball makes noise as it moves, thanks to rattles that are sewn in, and spectators (people watching the game) are required to be silent so the players can hear the ball. Players must warn their opponents before tackling them by shouting voy, which means “I’m going” in Spanish. (Spanish is used because blind football began in Spain.) 

A coach speaks to members of the soccer team while wearing a shirt that reads Together we can make inclusion work.

Light for the World, www.light-for-the-world.org

Blind soccer was invented in the 1920s, but it wasn’t adopted by the International Blind Sports Federation (IBSA) until 1996. Since then, the sport’s popularity has been growing. Blind soccer made its debut at the Paralympics, an international competition for athletes with disabilities, in 2004. In South Sudan, which has been an independent nation since 2011, the sport is still very new. Akol hopes the league will expand in South Sudan, adding more teams as time goes on. 

For now, the league is bringing new opportunities to players like Mubarak Joseph Hilary. Hilary had stopped playing soccer after losing his sight at age 15. Then he discovered blind soccer.

“I first thought it was the end of everything for me,” Hilary told Agence France-Presse. “I now know that I can do many things which I thought [were] impossible.”

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Did You Know?

English is the official language of South Sudan, but more than 60 Indigenous (native) languages are spoken in this young nation.

A large crowd of people are gathered and waving South Sudanese flags.

© Roberto Schmidt—AFP/Getty Images

A First on the Field

Jake Olson wears his football uniform as he holds up his arms to conduct in front of a crowd of fans, many wearing red USC t shirts.

© Brian Rothmuller—Icon Sportswire/Getty Images

In this 2017 photo, Jake Olson directs the USC marching band after playing in his first college football game.

In 2017, Jake Olson became the first completely blind person ever to take part in a college (American) football game. It was a dream come true. 

Olson was diagnosed with retinoblastoma, a cancer that affects the eyes, when he was a baby. He lost his sight at age 12. A lifelong football fan, Olson found a way to play. In high school, he learned to long snap, or throw the ball behind him to a teammate to start a play, and was invited to join the school’s varsity team. 

When it came time for college, Olson was accepted to the University of Southern California’s (USC) Trojans football team. It was a milestone—not just for Olson, but for people with disabilities everywhere. 

Today, Olson is working to open more doors to people with disabilities. He is a motivational speaker, meaning he gives speeches meant to inspire audiences. Olson also started Jake’s Out of Sight Faith Foundation, an organization that provides technology for blind children to use in school.

Legendary Lionel

Lionel Messi dribbles the ball on the field as an opposing player looks to steal.

© Yaroslav Sabitov/Dreamstime.com

It’s hard to find a soccer trophy that Lionel Messi doesn’t have! The Argentinian soccer player (seen above, in pink) has become a legend—and he’s still in the middle of his career.

You can learn more about Messi at Britannica.

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Word of the Day

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Part of speech:

noun

Definition:

: the act, activity, or process of finding the way to get to a place when you are traveling in a ship, airplane, car, etc.

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