History of Blind Football: From a Schoolyard Game to the World Cup

Blind football is a relatively young sport. It originated in the first half of the 20th century, initially in Spain and shortly afterwards in Brazil, on the playgrounds of schools for visually impaired children. These early, improvised games – played with items such as tins – gradually developed into organised competitions in the 1970s. In 1984, Brazilian teams held their first national championship. Other countries followed suit, and blind football became increasingly international. Continental championships in South America were followed by the first European Championship in 1997, and in 1998, by the first World Cup.

Officially, the sport is a mixed competition. At the highest international level, however, the sport was long dominated almost exclusively by men, partly because of the physical nature of blind football. The first Women’s European Championship was held in 2022, followed by the inaugural Women’s World Cup in 2023.

Blind football did not reach Germany until the 2000s. In the run-up to the 2006 World Cup, an international tournament with an accompanying programme took place in Berlin. The English national team took the opportunity to offer a blind football workshop for beginners. Among the participants were the FC St. Pauli fans and members of the Torball section, Katja and Michael Löffler. Together with Wolf Schmidt, they had also initiated the audio commentary seats at the Millerntor.

Thrilled by the experience, the pair set about establishing a blind football team at FC St. Pauli immediately upon their return. A delegation from Swabia had a similar experience. This led to the formation of Germany’s first blind football teams at the Millerntor and by MTV Stuttgart.

Captions:
In 2005, Stefan Mörs initiated the founding of a Tor- and Goalball department at FC St. Pauli. Goalball is a sport for blind and visually impaired athletes that is particularly popular in Germany. Players defend their goal by diving or lying in front of the goal area to block incoming shots.

During a blind football workshop in Berlin 2006, FC St. Pauli members Katja and Mike Löffler decided to establish a blind football team in Hamburg.

In September 2006, a German representative team featuring Michael Löffler took part in a multinational tournament in Greece. As the team did not yet have official kits, the players competed in the colors of the FC St. Pauli.