Albert Park’s Synthetic Football Field will play host for Australian Blind Football’s ABF4ALL Coaching Certificate session, taking place between 10am & 1pm on Sunday, March 28.
The ABF4ALL Certificate is designed to assist coaches, volunteers and parents who are seeking knowledge about how to facilitate football opportunities for people who are blind or partially blind.
The intent of the session is to see that blind football coaches, parent and volunteers are empowered by providing them with indelible information and a deeper understanding of partially sighted futsal and blind football. The course places emphasis on creating a positive playing environment for people of all ages and levels of vision loss.
The workshop itself will be a 2-hour session which will then be followed by a ‘Come and Play’ practice session aimed to encourage attendees to practice coaching techniques with football participants of all levels of hearing loss and ages.
Supporting people with vision impairment is a testament to Football Victoria’s dedication to ensuring accessibility and encouraging participation for people of all abilities.
Football Victoria’s Executive Manager for Growth and Inclusion, Karen Pearce acknowledged how pivotal the course is in readying & developing the skillsets of coaches, volunteers and parents who actively contribute to vision impaired football.
“We want the Victorian football community to know that football can be modified to suit all abilities,” she said.
“Football is not a traditional 11-a-side game and we want to develop more volunteers and coaches to support players playing in a modified version of the sport. We want to continue nurturing an inclusive environment for all to play the game.”
2021’s Tokyo edition of the Olympics will feature blind football being played as a modified 5-a-side version of the game. Categorised as ‘B1 football’ at the tournament, the game features outfield players wearing eyeshades and a goalkeeper who may be sighted. A rattling ball is used to assist players and boards sit just outside the outline of the pitch.
Those who wish to register for the event can do so here.
