KARACHI: For the first time a national football and judo championship for visually-impaired athletes will be organized in the country this month. 

The First National Blind Football and Judo Championship will commence on February 10 here at the Naya Nazimbad Sports Complex.

Blind athletes from all parts of the country will participate in the event, said Salman Ilahi, who heads a local NGO working for the welfare of visually-impaired individuals.

According to the details, the football event at the championship will be a five-a-side tournament with five players on each team, four infield players and one goalkeeper.

The infield players will be totally blind – classified as B1 – while the goalkeeper can be either a B3 (partially sighted) or a fully sighted player.

The football, however, will be equipped with rattles to produce a sound while it moves.

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