Mateen Rahmen is a very keen football fan and supports his friends when they play football at the weekends and has also wanted to play in his own team for the Blind. With the help of his friend Tausif Kidari, from the Inner City Football Club, a grant from the Khidmah organisation and support from the County FA, they have set up the Leicester Blind Football Academy, which offers a great opportunity for people who are blind to play football on a regular basis.
The Moat Community College, Maidstone Road, Leicester is the venue for the sessions and they are very keen to support the Leicester Blind Football Academy.
Currently the players train every week and also go down to Royal National College (RNC) for the Blind in Hereford to take part in the National Blind League. The RNC has state of the art facilities for the provision of Blind football which includes a purpose built sand based Astroturf and an indoor pitch ensuring the special ‘bell ball’ used produces the best sound possible, the boards surrounding the pitch are in place, which is key to blind footballers as they rely on sounds and the coaches voices.
The Leicester Blind Football Academy is is a great opportunity for potential Blind Footballers to become involved in a brilliant sport and the team is currently look to identify and recruit players of all ages to attend the sessions. The aim is to develop a full team of players from the Leicestershire Area and also to play in a regional league in the future.
The IBSA World Championships for the Blind are being held in Hereford during August and England (GB) Team are hoping to do well as they work towards competing in the Paralympics in London 2012. For further information log onto: www.blind2010.com
If you would like further information on football for Blind or Visually Impaired Players, please contact:
Mary Rudkin
0116 2844952 / 07752 746229
mary.rudkin@leicestershirefa.com