South Sudan team winning the blind football

Five years ago, South Sudan, the world's youngest nation, had no blind football team. In October 2025, the team made history by winning the African Blind Football Championship Division Two, their first-ever international tournament, defeating hosts Uganda in the final. The victory earned them promotion to Division One and brought them within reach of qualification for the 2028 Paralympic Games in Los Angeles.

The journey began in 2020 with just two players and a shared vision. Today, that vision has evolved into a community of over 40 athletes and a thriving national league, reshaping the nation's understanding of disability and possibility. Under the leadership of head coach Simon Madol, a Disability Inclusion Facilitator with Light for the World, the team has become a symbol of unity in a country often marked by division.

Blind football is a fast-paced five-a-side game played with a ball fitted with jingles, allowing players to track its movement by sound. To ensure fairness, all outfield players are blindfolded and call out "voy", Spanish for "I'm going", to avoid collisions and signal their runs. Goalkeepers may be partially or fully sighted, while teams rely on constant verbal guidance from the coach, a field guide, and the goalkeeper. During matches, spectators must remain silent so players can hear the ball, the pitch, and one another.