Judges go blindfolded to kick off Women’s Blind Football World Cup

The International Blind Sports Federation (IBSA) Women’s Blind Football World Cup 2025 got under way here with four High Court Judges inaugurating the championship with the blindfold on at the United Sports Centre, Kakkanad, on Sunday (October 5).

It turned out to be a unique experience for Judges A.K. Jayasankaran Nambiar, Raja Vijayaraghavan, Bechu Kurian Thomas, and P. Gopinath as they lit the ceremonial lamp blindfolded. They also took penalty kicks blindfolded, demonstrating blind football skills on the ground, marking a powerful message of inclusion and empathy.

“Justice is often depicted as a blindfolded lady holding the scales of justice in one hand and a sword in the other. The depiction is of the majesty of justice, known for its impartiality and firmness. However, the surreal experience of performing ordinary tasks blindfolded was a first for me when I was called upon, along with three of my colleagues on the bench, to inaugurate the world blind football tournament for women,” said Justice Nambiar.

“We were then taken to the field where we took turns trying to score goals blindfolded with a ball that had a bell inside it and visualising in our minds a goal post, the dimensions of which we had to conjure up using the tapping sounds generated by the goalkeeper! Those few minutes of forced visual impairment made us realise how the blind visualised the world around them and then successfully manoeuvred through it without any prior knowledge of what it seemed to the majority around them who were blessed with sight. The fact that the blind youngsters before us were playing a football tournament at the international level despite the physical and psychological challenges that life threw in their way reinforced in us the faith in the indomitable human spirit that drives human beings to do the seemingly impossible,” Justice Nambiar said.

Mariano Travaglino (Technical Director of the Championship), Jani Vishwanath, advisor, Indian Blind Football Federation (IBFF); Mohammed Asif Iqbal, secretary, IBFF; Sunil J. Mathew, sporting director, IBFF; and M.C. Roy, tournament director, IBFF, attended the inaugural function.

In the opening match that followed, Brazil defeated India by one goal. The tournament features defending champions Argentina, host India, Brazil, England, Poland, Turkey, Canada, and Japan. The game is played in a five-a-side format, with only the goalkeeper being sighted.