Visually impaired football enthusiasts were out for coaching on Tuesday under the Nairobi-based ‘Alive and Kicking’ initiative, which is introducing blind football in schools and community centres across the country.
“Alive and Kicking is a social enterprise that does balls – more specifically, for this project, we do sound balls,” said the initiative’s project manager, Andrew Oloo.
By making noise as they move, sound balls enable players with visual impairments to locate and follow the ball during play.
“These sound balls will be distributed to schools, and teachers are being equipped with the skills needed to coach football for the blind,” Oloo continued.
During matches, all players wear blindfolds, ensuring a level playing field between those who are fully blind and those with partial vision.
The game is played five-a-side on a smaller pitch – 20 by 40 meters – with only the goalkeeper being sighted, to help guide the team.
(WATCH) Levelling the playing field: Blind football coaching kicks off for Kenya’s visually impaired youngsters
