ARGENTINA: FOOTBALL/SOCCER - Blind soccer World Cup kicks off in Buenos Aires

This does not look like a World Cup soccer stadium, but then the games that are going to be played here are not your usual soccer games. Welcome to the Blind Soccer World Cup that kicked off in Argentina on Thursday (November 24). Just like the regular World Cup, the Blind Cup is held every four years, and the two teams to watch are Argentina and Spain. The major difference is that the only player on the team that is not blind or visually-impaired is the goalkeeper. On top of that, the matches have no offside, each time has five players and the crowd is forbidden from making any sound during the action. England, Brazil, Paraguay, France, Japan, South Korea, and Senegal are among the 10 nations competiong and their players say they aim to reach professional standards. "Like all sportsmen, the number one aim is to be the best in the competition, and if possible to win. But if you are unable to get to the top position, you can still judge how is the sport in Paraguay," Paraguayan player Jose Wilfredo Lopez said during a training session on Wednesday (November 23). Blind soccer uses a specially-designed ball that which is slightly smaller than a normal soccer ball and has a number of compartments in it with ball bearings so that when it is moving it generates a sound. All of the players - except the goalies - are blindfolded so that those with higher visual capacity are not at an advantage. Games are split into two 25-minute halves and the players shout out when they want the ball passed to them. As for finding the goals, a coach sits behind each of the nets and shouts so players know where to shoot. The clock is stopped each time the ball goes out of play. The stadium is also significantly smaller than a regular soccer pitch, at only 40 by 20 metres, and is enclosed along the sides. The arriving players are given time to learn the pitch through hand contact before starting play. France and Brazil faced off in the first match of the tournament on Thursday. The Brazilian team were the Paralympics champions in Athens in 2004, and they quickly marked their dominance from the start, with striker Joao converting two goals within the first eight minutes. France fought back with a goal just before the end of the first half. But Joao came out again strong from the break, converting two more goals and ending the match 4-1 to Brazil. The crowd must be silent so the players can hear where the ball is - but the Brazilian crowd took full use of the breaks after goals to cheer on their team. The match's winning man - Brazil's striker Joao Silva - said that the South American team was expecting to deliver spectators a repeat performance in their next match. "We have not come here to not get to the final. Our clearest intention is to try to take out the title," he said. Following Brazil's crushing victory, their neighbours Paraguay also lead out to dominate over Japan in the next match. Paraguay converted two goals in the first half, and followed up with a third in the second, while their iron-fast defence fending back several Japanese attempts on the net. The final will be played on December 1.

ITN Source | November 25, 2006

Tags:. .victory. .bearings. .contact. .deliver. .champions