Brazil has not only won every gold medal since its Paralympic debut in Athens in 2004, but has also remained undefeated. They are also hot contenders for the title in Paris.
It all depends on the support
The beginnings of blind football in Brazil go back over 60 years. Organized tournaments have been taking place since the 1960s. In 1998, the first World Cup took place in Campinas, Brazil, and the home team beat Argentina in the final. The promotion of blind football in Brazil is extensive, and a life as a blind football professional is possible. “The Brazilians have a great youth program. The junior national team is currently being prepared for Los Angeles 2028 and is actually already at world-class level,” says Sven Gronau. The goalkeeper of the blind football team of FC St. Pauli is in Paris himself and will watch the tournament.
In order to promote inclusion, the Brazilian labor market has a quota system that requires a certain number of people with disabilities to be employed. To avoid penalties, many companies therefore employ para-athletes who are only employees on paper. The advantage: the athletes can concentrate fully on their sport. The downside: disabled people who are not top athletes have a much harder time finding a job.
Another mundane but mundane reason why Brazil has so many good players is the health system. Due to poor medical care, there are more visually impaired people in Brazil than in industrialized countries like Germany.
Play nice, open blind
The Brazilians remain true to their identity in their style of play. It is the magic and the dribbling that make the Brazilian game so beautiful. “Players like Jefinho slalom around their opponents and then shoot the ball hard into the goal,” says Gronau.
He himself was once allowed to play against the man nicknamed the “Pelé of blind football.” Another top star of the team is Ricardinho. The exceptional player has dominated blind football for years, and in 2016 he scored the golden goal for the home Paralympics victory. He was absent from the last World Cup in England in 2023, which led to Argentina snatching the title. Now he is back and is aiming for the gold medal.
But this undertaking might not be as easy as history suggests. The tournament field is strong, and the other nations have caught up. “The competition has become greater. Argentina will have a chance, but I expect China in particular to be extremely strong,” predicts Gronau. “China has real machines on the field that are very well set up tactically. They move things around like on a chessboard.” Japan and Colombia are also opponents that should not be underestimated.
The Brazilian team will face Turkey in the opening match on Sunday evening. The German team has not qualified for Paris. Gronau doubts whether participation in Los Angeles in 2028 will be possible: “I’m afraid the structures in Germany are not good enough to raise a team to world-class level.” However, a change in the format could bring new hope: “Germany would have a good chance in a women’s blind football tournament,” says Gronau. In Paris, however, only a men’s tournament will be played.
Tim Rosenberger is a freelance contributor to the Main-Echo media house and reports on the Paralympic Games in Paris for the Berlin Tagesspiegel. This text first appeared in the Tagesspiegel.
