When: 29^th May 2019

Where: English Institute of Sport, Sheffield, S9 5DA

Who for: Open to all ages, genders & ability level’s

To Register: https://goo.gl/forms/FZ2DiBImRMYACVi53

This session will be open to individuals of all abilities & backgrounds. This is not a talent session this is about providing an open, accessible, opportunity for anyone with a visual impairment to give football a try. We do have a 2 hour slot booked in at EIS so once individuals have registered we will be in contact to allocate a time slot, this will allow us more time to provide the right level of support on the day.

What you need to know about blind football:

Firstly, blind football is the only football pathway available to blind players. Player numbers are generally low so there is usually a huge crossover between grassroots & elite level players.

At a recreational level it is open to male & female players, dispensation can also be requested for female players to take part in national competition.

The game of Blind football itself is a heavily adapted version of Futsal, played by players with a B1 or B2 sight classification at a national level & B1 only at international level. Outfield players wear eye shades to ensure level competition & remove any light recognition individuals may have. For guidance on sight classification please see attached guidance document.

Each team has a fully sighted goalkeeper who also acts as a guide for the players on the pitch. Teams also have a guide in the middle of the pitch & one behind the opposition goal.

In competitive blind football acoustic boards run along the touchline to assist the players with sound recognition & to keep the ball in play. At a recreational level this acoustic boards are not always available.

There is a national league for blind football with fixtures played centrally at the Royal National College for the Blind (Hereford) operated by an independent committee; The national blind football league.

The FA offer a full time programme for talented blind players who are contracted to the FA & have a full time coach employed at St.Georges Park.

Teams from the National blind football league also compete in the FA Disability Cup, details of this can be found here: //www.thefa.com/get-involved/player/disability/disability-cup-overview

What you need to know about partially sighted football:

Unlike blind football partially sighted players are also able to access mainstream & pan-disability football. In impairment specific football they play a slightly adapted version of futsal with players with a B2-B5 sight classification. Internationally there must be x2 B3 players on the pitch at any one time.

Like blind football goalkeepers can be sighted but also partially sighted goalkeepers are also encouraged.

When playing the game it’s important for us to use a suitably coloured football to improve visuals & also use facilities with consistent lighting.

There is also a Partially Sighted football league with fixtures taking place in different locations across the Country.