Category: Blind Football Academies

For the parents of a visually impaired child, finding a physical activity that allows the child to thrive can be a complex task. The task becomes even more complicated when the child, like many today, is passionate about soccer and follows the results of his elders in the greatest world competitions. However, the practice of football from an early age is not limited to “sighted” children. This is why the “Blind football Academies” were created.

The idea is to allow young visually impaired people to practice an adaptation of soccer : blind football. At first, they will test the activity during events/demonstrations close to their home. Then, in a second phase, they will have the opportunity to practice regularly in the regional schools of the academies.

Parents and children will be able to discover the discipline, acquire the basics at an early age and why not join a club or even be detected by the national team supervisor, who knows ?

Presentation of blind football academies

The Blind Football Academies in France are soccer schools for visually impaired children aged 6 to 16. They allow them to practice their passion through these schools throughout France.
Training sessions will take place at least once a week (except during school holidays) for a duration of 1h30.

Safe and adapted environment
The children practice with adapted equipment (sound balls, masks) on secure fields (side barrier, protective foam on the goalposts) of high quality in a URBANSOCCER training centers.
A medical follow-up will be provided to ensure the good health of the players.

Trained and competent staff
Piloted by the French Federation of Sports for disabled, the sessions will be supervised by qualified and trained educators. The training sessions are designed by the technical direction. The coaching staff will maintain the link with the children’s school structures to include blind football in their education.

Pleasure, growth and development
The objective of this school is to improve, through the practice of soccer, the global capacities of the child. In particular, we will develop autonomy through the stimulation of balance, coordination and motor skills. Our pedagogy favors the development of the child so that he/she can blossom and express all his/her abilities.

On the way to Paris 2024
Blinf football is a Paralympic sport and the French team won a silver medal at the London 2012 Games. The academy is a breeding ground for local clubs and will help train tomorrow’s Paralympic athletes from today.

The Academies across France

The objective by 2024 is to create one or more academy per region. For any information on the national project of the French blind football academies, please write to the following address : academie@cecifoot-france.fr

The launch of the very first academy took place in Lille on September 9, 2020 with the first training of the blind football Academy in the Hauts-de-France region. Find below the list of the academies created or being created :

• Lille : discover the academy Hauts-de-France in details here

• Paris : creation of the Ile-de-France academy in the first half of 2021

• Strasbourg : discover the academy Grand-Est in details here

• Bordeaux : discover the academy Nouvelle Aquitaine in details here

Partners

This project was made possible thanks to the unfailing support of our partners. A big thank you to these partners, without whom, this project could not exist!

Lucie Care is a fund created by UNADEV (Union Nationale des Aveugles et Déficients Visuels). Its main objective is to support young visually impaired people in order to offer them the same opportunities for development and fulfillment as any other child. This organization’s mission is to encourage innovative initiatives in various fields such as education, training and raising awareness of disability among the general public. These values are the same in our blind football academies.

Urban Soccer is the famous company in the world of soccer that manages different “futsal” or “5-a-side soccer” practice centers throughout France and Belgium. This discipline is currently experiencing a major boom by providing infrastructures and a quality environment to more and more players. This company has chosen to provide logistical support to the Blinf Football Academies by giving the children suitable training facilities.

The MMA Solidarity Foundation belongs to the leading French mutual insurance group and is committed to supporting projects that help people with disabilities. The priority objective is to enable the development and social inclusion of young accident victims through multiple fields of intervention : sports, leisure activities, artistic expression and direct assistance. These themes are fully in line with the values of the Blinf Football Academies.

The Handicap et Solidarité fund was created in 2011 by the Sainte-Marie association. Its objective is to promote projects related to the improvement of the daily life of people with disabilities. They can count on famous sponsors include Nathalie Benoit, silver medalist in rowing at the London 2012 Paralympic Games. Blind Football and its academies have therefore been perceived by the members of the fund as a means of self-fulfilment through the practice of a sporting activity.

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