Nigeria Content Online

Imagine Lionel Messi playing football
with his eyes closed or Jay-Jay Okocha making his wonderful moves while
blindfolded; that excitement is what obtains in Blind Football; a game
which is gradually getting its roots in Nigeria.

Though the country is yet make it to
the zenith of the game whose World Cup finals comes up later today in
Hereford, England, the brain behind the game in the Nigeria – Yinka
Gbadamosi – is optimistic that the country’s team, the Light Eagles
will make it to the 2012 edition.

“We are making progress every day (and)
by 2012, we should be able to make our first appearance at the World
Cup even though we might not be able to make much impact,” he said.

Gbadamosi, who lost his sight as a
young boy says his dream and passion is to see blind use their other
senses to make a living, with sports being one of the platforms to
achieve that aim.

“Losing one’s sight is not supposed to
be the end to the world. You can still do a lot with the other senses
God has given you. I use to be a goalkeeper before losing my sight but
it did not end there even after going blind,” he said.

The Blind game

Whereas mainstream
football around the world is played amidst a colourful and noisy
backdrop, the silence in the blind version of the game is somewhat
striking.

Etiquette dictates
that spectators remain quiet unless the ball goes out of play because
players need to be able to hear each other and more crucially, the
ball. The ball contains ball bearings, which means its motion makes a
gentle rattling noise that helps players to locate it.

Expectedly, the style of play is different too.

Passes cover a
shorter distance and as players try not to let the ball stray more than
a few inches from their feet, making nimble footwork and a command of
the ball vital.

Mesmeric footwork,
accurate passing and the ever-present rattling of the ball gives the
game a hypnotic quality that makes it easy to forget that the players
can’t see what they’re kicking.

There are
occasional reminders – perhaps a misplaced pass allows the ball to roll
away, or the action stops and the spectator’s gaze lifts from the
players’ feet to the unfamiliar sight of footballers wearing eye
patches.

Development in Nigeria

According to
Gbadamosi there just two teams here in Nigeria for now, they are AF
Rovers, which is run by the wife of Lagos State governor Abimbola
Fasola and Ituah Babes which is owned by Ituah Ighodalo, a Pastor.

“We hope to have
more teams come on board very soon as more people are beginning to
appreciate what we are doing,” Gbadamosi said.

Blind football was
first exhibited in Nigeria on May 2, 2008 and a little over two years
later, the game is gradually getting some attention.

Gbadamosi however
said that it has not been too rosy getting along as his organisation
has been plagued with financial challenges and some administrative
bottle necks.

“We are currently
affiliated with the Lagos State Football Association; they actually
registered us for free but we have not been able to secure registration
with the Corporate Affairs Commission and the National Sports
Commission,” he said.

While believing
that these hurdles will soon be crossed, Gbadomsi also called for
support from well meaning Nigerians, corporate bodies and more
importantly the government.

Of the Ten teams scheduled to participate in this year’s Blind World Cup, Cameroun is the only country from Africa.