Jagwe Muzafaru is visually impaired and founded the Blind Football League to give people like him a taste of the beautiful game.
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00:00When people have seen what we are doing, it first goes to their mind and says,
00:07how can a blind person play?
00:09So they come around and they say, even the blind can play football.
00:13Sports is one of the first solutions to the mental state.
00:18The physical exercises that we do before the game starts,
00:21before any practice starts, is already a solution to their mental stability.
00:26That is going to create unity among the blind,
00:30especially when it comes to team building.
00:33It encourages inclusivity of people with disabilities in games.
00:38It has given me an opportunity to show the world
00:42that in this particular area there exists a community of visually impaired people.
00:48My name is Diago Mzafal. I'm the founder and chairman of Blind Football Uganda.
00:56Blind Football Uganda is a parapsport organization that specifically governs,
01:05develops and promotes the game of blind football.
01:08Domestically, we are fully recognized by the Uganda Paralympic Committee
01:12and we are fully recognized by the International Blind Sports Association.
01:17For blind football, we had a stick of maggot on the continent.
01:23One is the ball. This is the ball.
01:26So the ball we use to play makes a rotating sound
01:29and they are not sold in Africa generally and they are not accessible.
01:35Another is the eye shades, the standard one.
01:38So we use these ones. They are called eye shades that cover the eyes.
01:46I got the inspiration of starting blind football
01:49after watching Rio games in 2016.
01:54I admired and started to search around to see if we can also have it in Uganda.
02:00So I ended up developing a blind football championship that I organize annually.
02:05It brings all those teams and gives them a competing opportunity.
02:10All teams we have in the country come in one place.
02:13The initiative has grown tremendously.
02:16In 2021, I introduced the sport, but it was specifically in only two areas and two universities.
02:24We are no longer now in just universities.
02:26Now we are in secondary schools and then primary schools.
02:30So now we have 12 to 13 teams spread all over the country.
02:37We had six teams that competed in group stage format
02:42and the strong spirits from Kampala emerged as the winner of the 2024 Blind Football Championship.
02:52My first reaction about the Blind Football Initiative was a great outlook towards it
02:57that is going to create unity among blinds, especially when it comes to team building,
03:05encourages inclusivity of people with disabilities in games.
03:12Participation in this tournament actually helps me think that I am not left out
03:22and I'm talented like any other person who is sighted.
03:28And actually it also makes me feel that there are some things I can do
03:35that those who are able-bodied cannot.
03:38Blind football has actually brought a sense of sensitization to the community when they see us.
03:45We are an organization that is big on inclusion and we love to give opportunities to the visually impaired.
03:52I cannot express how much the tournament had an effect on the players and the families of the players.
04:01We saw parents just yearning to come out to the field and support their children.
04:06They would not believe their eyes watching children do what they thought they cannot do.
04:14Playing football with others that have a visual impairment or are blind,
04:18there is this kind of togetherness. We are the same. We are blind.
04:23So the game brings you together, especially the youth that were scattered.
04:29By now football brings that community back.
04:32My personal hopes for the next generation of blind footballers is that it's going to be massive
04:37because it's just the beginning. We hope that in the near future it's going to increase and be big and better.
04:49I think the biggest challenge that I've faced being visually impaired
04:53is the protectionism that I faced with my family.
04:57And then over time I've come to be independent in whatever I'm doing now.
05:03What this tournament means to me is also a gauge of our growth.
05:07It tells us how far we have moved, how far we are going,
05:11what we have done in the past, how we can improve play and how we can improve performance.
05:17The way I envision blind football domestically is having a competitive league
05:23which can run for three to six months.
05:26Having our own pitch where we can play, where we can train from.
05:30If you have become visually impaired, it doesn't limit you from doing other things in life.
05:36We have visually impaired doctors and runners.
05:40So even if you have lost your sight, you can still go on with your normal life.
05:45You can do everything. You are not limited in any way or the other.