Partners Unite to Develop Blind Football Across West Asia
Partners Unite to Develop Blind Football Across West Asia
On 29 June 2026, the West Asian Football Federation (WAFF) Foundation brought together representatives from its Member Associations for an online seminar dedicated to Blind Football, marking the next chapter of the West Asia Para Football programme.
The workshop, hosted by the WAFF Foundation in collaboration with Para Football, IBSA (International Blind Sports Federation) and the IBF Foundation, introduced national football associations across Bahrain, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, Palestine, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria, the UAE and Yemen to the structures, pathways and partners that can help them launch and grow blind football in their countries.
Building on Five Years of Work
The seminar represents the next stage of the Para Football × WAFF cooperation programme, working to formalise impairment specific formats of football, such as blind football, across the region. Since 2021, the programme has supported Member Associations through an audit and needs analysis, development workshops covering governance, classification and partnerships, the #FootballForAll programme embedding disability football within national associations, and the first-ever pan-disability West Asia Para Football Festival which delivered three editions.
Today's workshop connected that foundation directly to blind football for the first time.
The Opportunity in West Asia
The region has both a pressing need and a significant opportunity. More than 25 million people across North Africa and the Middle East live with moderate to severe visual impairment, and blindness prevalence in Arab countries stands at 4.65% — over eight times the global average of 0.55%. Diabetes, particularly prevalent across Gulf states, is a leading cause of visual impairment in the region.
Yet despite this scale, only one West Asian nation currently has a formal national blind football programme. The workshop made clear that the infrastructure to change this is now in place.
What the Seminar Covered
Para Football's Sam Turner opened the session alongside colleagues Farah Saleh, Sabina Ospanova and Kamil Kouřil, presenting an overview of the programme journey and outlining how Para Football supports Member Associations, from developing a disability football strategy and connecting national stakeholders, to facilitating formal relationships with International Federations, sharing good practice from programmes across Europe, South America and Asia, and building competition pathways for players.
The presentation framed blind football not as a standalone add-on, but as part of a whole-programme approach, one where governance, safeguarding, coach education and competition systems built for blind football can serve all disability football disciplines within a Member Association.
Mariano Travaglino from IBSA introduced the sport, its classification system and the international competition pathway available to players and nations.
Eita Otsubo and David Stirton from the IBF Foundation presented the Foundation's work mobilising blind football as a vehicle for wider social change, and the support available to associations developing the sport.
Member Associations were encouraged to undertake a national SWOT analysis — assessing existing disability sport infrastructure, available budget and staffing, links to national Paralympic committees and opportunities through ophthalmology clinics, schools and disability NGOs. Para Football will support each association to develop a long-term blind football plan aligned with FIFA, AFC and WAFF mandates.
The WAFF Foundation, Para Football, IBSA and the IBF Foundation will continue to work together to ensure that blind football players across West Asia have the structures, competition and support they deserve.
For more on the West Asia Para Football programme, visit www.parafootball.com/our-projects/west-asia-football-federation
