Namibia: Blind Football Matches Spark National Ambitions

The Namibia National Paralympic Committee says the successful hosting of blind football exhibition matches in Windhoek has strengthened hopes of establishing a national team capable of competing among Africa's best.

The exhibition matches took place at the Namibia Special Olympics Grounds at Katutura recently and formed part of efforts to grow the Paralympic sport in Namibia.

NNPC development officer JP Schmidt recently told Desert FM the initiative is part of a broader drive to expand participation in Paralympic sport beyond athletics.

"The Namibia National Paralympic Committee is on a big drive to include more sport codes. Many people will only know the Paralympic sport in Namibia through track-and-field athletics, but we have 23 sport codes," he said.

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Blind football is a five-a-side version of the game played by blind athletes using a ball fitted with bells that allows them to track its movement through sound.

Schmidt said spectators were left impressed by the quality of play displayed during the recent exhibition matches.

"The whole atmosphere was electric because of the amazing talent these athletes possess," he said.

"People don't know and they see it as impossible, but it is so captivating to see these athletes in action."

Six teams participated in the exhibition event, with players being from different parts of the country.

Schmidt said the next phase of the project will focus on creating structured competitions and identifying players for national team selection.

"The next step now is to build our national team," he said.

He said Namibia has the potential to become a force on the continent if the programme continues to grow.

"We've got talented players out there. If we build a strong national team, I can almost guarantee we will be one of the top teams in Africa."

The NNPC and the Namibian Association for Blind Sports are expected to start engaging more regions through training camps and development programmes as they work towards establishing a national blind football team

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