Visionary Football:
A mixed-futsal 5 for sighted and unsighted players

Handbook

The European Commission's support for the production of this publication does not constitute an endorsement of the contents, which reflect the views only of the authors, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.

Preface

When I visited for the first time a special school for Children with Visual Impairments (CVI), I had the opportunity to merge within their environment, getting to know their desires, fears and strengths. I will not forget a little girl saying “I would like to become a programmer but everybody says I cannot because I am blind”. In this moment I understood that the safe nets of love and worries that surround every child, and especially a person with visual impairment, can sometimes become nets that harm while protecting.

I also remembered a youngster with a visual impairment in my HighSchool who was systematically left sitting on a bench during physical education hours. That was not because the physical education teacher wanted to exclude him but because we were in a mainstream HighSchool and he was not prepared to work with children with a visual impairment and he was afraid for the youngsters with visual impairments to get hurt.

These two moments made me think about Roger Bannister, a British middle-distance athlete and neurologist who ran a mile in less than 4 minutes, tearing down all the barriers of doubts, mistrust and ignorance around the topic.
At that moment I understood that the ones surrounding CVI, i.e. their parents, friends, teachers, trainers, and so on, might become a barrier that is not linked to the actual impairment anymore but to the fear of the unknown, the fear of their loved one getting hurt.

Four-Minutes Barriers (4MinBs) was born that day with the aim to foster CVI inclusion through sport activities and to expand the knowledge regarding benefits of sport activities for CVI in order to help the CVI networks (parents, teachers, friends, trainers, and so on) to overcome barriers made of fear and lack of information.

For this reason, a new mixed sport (further explained) has been developed and implemented in order to allow sighted children and CVI to play together on the same pitch without having the sighted children as mere guides for the CVI. All 4MinBs Consortium firmly believes that real inclusion comes from pure engagement and not from volunteering or, even worse, from pity.

Thanks to the effort of a committed cross-sectorial and transnational Consortium of partners, further displayed, within the framework of the funding programme Erasmus+, Action Sport, 4MinBs will have developed 3 main intellectual outputs:

IO1- VisiBall Handbook
IO2- Portfolio of good practices and methodologies regarding sport and physical activities for People with Visual Impairments (PVI)
IO3- 3 MOOCs the general benefits of sports for the PVI community as well as specifically on the newly developed sport - VisiBall

The development and implementation of the new mixed sport called VisiBall is a pivotal element of the whole project. In the next pages, all its elements and rules of VisiBall will be explained.

Matteo CURRELI
Project Manager, Designer of the Erasmus+ “Four-Minutes Barriers” project

Introduction

The VisiBall sport is a form of 5-a-side football played by mixed teams of blind and non-blind players built upon an idea of Matteo CURRELI with the support of Foundation for Development of the Cultural and Business Potential of Civil Society (FDCBPCS, Bulgaria) and developed by Quartotempo Firenze Associazione Sportiva Dilettantistica (QTFI, Italy).

The sport was formalized and published throughout the project “Four-Minutes Barriers: Foster the inclusion of visually impaired youngsters through sport methodologies and sport activities” (4MinBs | FMB) (2020-2021) (613251-EPP-1-2019-1-BG-SPO-SCP), co-funded by the Erasmus+ programme of the European Union in partnership between:

Inforef (Belgium)
Foundation for Development of the Cultural and Business Potential of Civil Society (Bulgaria)
School for Visually Impaired Students "Louis Braille" (Bulgaria)
University of Thessaly (Greece)
Pirsos Blind Sport Union (Greece)
UNESCO Chair, Munster Technological University (Ireland)
Quartotempo Firenze ASD (Italy)
Ofensiva Tinerilor (Romania)

Why a new sport?

Sport is a key part of everyone's life from a physical as well as from a psychological point of view. Sport deals with values like sacrifice, commitment, social cooperation and integration, competition, respect for the other, fairness, perseverance or determination and it also requires people to develop a wide range of psychomotor skills that have an extremely positive and useful impact on our daily lives. That is particularly important if we think about people with disabilities because, regardless of the kind and severity of their impairments, they need to overcome barriers and obstacles to get proof of their achievements.

Here we will focus our attention on blind sports and specifically on a new blind sport discipline that we named VisiBall. It is a revised version of blind futsal that also includes sighted players. In a blind futsal match, we have two teams composed of eight blind football players and two sighted players that are the two goalkeepers. Blind futsal is one of the most complicated blind sport disciplines because blind football players are subjected to a lot of inputs such as the sound of the ball or the voices of the teammates or the indications given by goalkeepers, coaches and guides. Besides that, they have to train and develop a variety of skills allowing them to play safely; skills such as orientation, motor coordination, extreme concentration, reaction to sound, knowledge of their bodies, ballistic abilities, good communication and capacity to work in a team. All these skills have an enormous impact in blind people’s lives because if someone learns how to orient himself/herself in a football pitch in a freely and autonomously way, this person is probably not going to get lost in his/her neighbourhood; if a person is able to concentrate on a specific sound or vocal indication within a wide range of sounds, it will be easier for this person to avoid acoustic interferences or obstacles when he/she walks along the street; if someone shares and confronts his/her life experiences with other people, it is very likely that this person will feel better integrated in his/her social and work context.

There are various reasons why we decided to conceive a new blind sport discipline: firstly social inclusion, especially in school contexts, because we are deeply convinced that the coexistence of blind and sighted players in the game could strengthen and consolidate a more effective and realistic knowledge and cooperation between them. Blind players will feel themselves as an active part of something that they formerly considered out of their possibilities and sighted players will look at the disability of their teammates in a new light. Secondly safety, because the presence of more sighted players inside the pitch could avoid injuries or collisions and it could make blind players feel more confident. Thirdly, dynamism and chorus of the play because blind futsal tends to favour individual technique at the expense of collective manoeuvre while “VisiBall’s” set of rules force players to share the ball and it makes the game quicker and more engaging. Finally, the growth of blind people playing sports for the reasons explained above.

Jacopo LILLI
Captain of the Italian National Blind Football (B1) team

Who is this handbook made for?

This Handbook is aimed at professionals working in and through sports to improve the life of people with any type of visual impairment. The large categories of professionals that can find useful information and practical tools in this Handbook are the following.

Sports professionals: coaches, trainers, fitness coaches, sports clubs operators and executives, masseurs, tutors, sports scientists, talent scouts, agents, referees.
Education professionals: physical education teachers, professional fitness coaches, mentors.
Health professionals: nutritionists, psychologists, physiotherapists, psychomotor therapists.
Media professionals:
Security professionals: Attorney General of Sport.

The educational value of VisiBall

VisiBall is a discipline that has, from a psychological and educational point of view, considerable relevance both for people involved in the game, sighted and blind players, and for those who watch the game.

First of all, it enables the participation of sighted athletes and blind athletes together without the competition being attenuated in any manner: this is a remarkable achievement, in view of what the difference in sensory condition between players would suggest. In this sense, the "charity" paradigm for which people with disabilities always depend on others and on the healthcare system for their sustenance is successfully countered by a sport. This means a lot especially for people with visual disabilities. They feel responsible to engage with their team and actively contribute on the very same level of their sighted teammates, as well as to participate in the collective venture of a football match.

In VisiBall, sighted athletes are also involved in this paradigm shift in several dimensions. In addition to training and improving their athletic skills, they also tend to naturally internalise the point of view of their blind teammates in their daily life, in a way that sometimes needs to be rebuilt from scratch. Thanks to the playful aspect of the activity and the interdependency with diverse individuals, they learn to support their blind teammates by identifying themselves with a person who relates to their environment not through vision, but through hearing. Thus, they change the way they communicate with others, the way they pass the ball, and avoid dangers, with both empathic and technical skills that need to be extremely accurate in order not to put their blind teammates in further difficulty. Empathy, hearing and technique are, of course, essential elements in blind football too; it is a sport that aspires to be a tool, a stimulus also for other team sports where certain aspects are fundamental, yet sometimes challenging to cultivate. In VisiBall, if you don't train empathy and hearing, you cause the defeat of your team.

Blind athletes are likely to test themselves only at individual sports, simply because it is easier to refer only to themselves. Blind football, and VisiBall, offer them the opportunity to explore other dimensions, as emerged from an interview we did with a person with a visual impairment immediately after playing this sport for the first time. To the question "What does this experience mean to you?", they replied "For me to feel truly included, to know where the ball goes, to understand who has it, it is simply extraordinary! [..] coordinating yourself in an individual sport is already a big effort, so coordinating a whole, being part of a larger body is more stimulating". Seems clear to us that the choral aspect of the game is a pivotal element of this sport; in addition to this, blind players can compete with sighted players without any negative effect to the intensity of the game and, therefore, diversity becomes a whole new framework between unexplored and ambitious.

Trust is a keyword: the blind person can trust their teammates in a completely new way because, on the pitch, he/she does not use aid devices. The guidance provided by the team member that plays the role of Guide from outside the pitch and by the sighted companions are often necessary both for their physical safety and the achievement of a good performance. For this reason, trust becomes another pivotal point of this game, and its process of mutual acquisition between the sighted and the blind transcends the sports field and accesses psychological and educational spheres that can be transferred to other contexts of life. Socially, this process can foster the establishment of bonds with teammates that address monolithic cultural legacies of our society such as the fear of diversity. When diversity comes into contact, in a playful and "collective venture" context, the path to bring down the walls of distrust is simplified.

For the blind, trust also affects their hearing, physical, proprioceptive and orientation abilities. For the sighted person, on the other hand, it is to cultivate both the ability to be trustworthy, to be reliable, and to adopt effective communication strategies.

Due to the importance of hearing and verbal communication between players in this sport, the public is supposed to watch the game in silence. Through this silence, spectators hold back their emotions. Silence is an important empathic exercise in VisiBall, as if the spectator says "I am deprived of something in favour of others, with whom, however, I can then rejoice at achieving a common objective, the goal". Being part of the match from outside of the pitch as a spectator takes a whole new meaning.

Iacopo FOSSI
Psychotherapist, President of Quartotempo Firenze Amateur Sports Club (IT)

Background of the VisiBall sport

VisiBall has been developed based on the need to create a new tool and inclusive opportunity within the sports context. After some research, Matteo Curreli, part of the FDCBPCS team, came to the conclusion that, as one of the most popular sports in the world, football could be a good starting point for the development of a new mixed sport in which children and adults with and without visual impairments could play together; with the sighted included as actual players and not just guides. The idea to start from such a popular sport was mainly related to 2 points: high presence of needed facilities to play the new sport throughout the EU; easier and most effective transferability and understanding of the main contents to the recipients (trainers; teachers; families; etc.). Then, more research linked to a smaller version of the game, have moved the attention from football to futsal; more specifically to blind futsal (paralympic discipline). Suddenly the idea to include 2 sighted players to each team not only for the good of the inclusion but also to guarantee a more fluent and less physical but more athletic game. Despite the enthusiasm, Mr. Curreli had no practical experience in v.i. and blind sports. This is when Mr. Fossi and Quarto Tempo Firenze (QTFI) started their collaboration between the individuals and also the Organizations in an Italo-Bulgarian collaboration. Here, the Italian association has taken the first rules drafted by Mr. Curreli and tried to implement it in the futsal pitches. After several trials, Mr. Fossi and the all QTFI association started to believe in the idea, applying the needed modification to create a first embrional version of the new mixed game called “mixed-futsal five” and “calcio visionario” (VisiBall).
Thanks to the 4 Minute Barriers project, funded under the Erasmus+ framework, the Italo-Bulgarian cooperation became a wider and more trans-sectoral collaboration, including all the project partners from: Belgium, Bulgaria, Greece, Ireland, Italy, and Romania. Under the 4 Minute Barriers project, the mixed-futsal five/VisiBall has turned into VisiBall thanks to several trials, research, months of implementation and changes.

Thanks to the Project, co-funded by the European Commission through the Erasmus+ framework, an isolated idea from a single person has become an exciting new Sport already tested in several EU Countries with its own Handbook containing rules and fundamentals of this new mixed Sport.
Keeping alive the same spirit of inclusion for and throughout the Sport, VisiBall is now a new tool for physical education teachers, trainers, families, and an inclusive way to create and foster new friendships at school and beyond.

Like its background, VisiBall wants to share the Project’ believes: The higher and hardest barriers to be torn down are often the ones in our minds.
With passion, creativity and cooperation, we can make possible what we thought was not possible.

Research & Development method

The development of the VisiBall handbook relied on in-depth research and a proper testing methodology. Starting from the latest scientific findings regarding sport for people with visual impairments, through the development of the first drafts of VisiBall, to the practical-evidenced based testing with a view of of changing, adapting and improving the first draft in order to consolidate a definitive version of the VisiBall handbook. The new Sport has always had a triple objective, targeting biomechanical feasibility, psychological impact, and engagement potential.

Biomechanical feasibility: Starting from scientific findings, the partnership developed a series of basic preparatory and propaedeutic exercises that were later tested with our target group representatives to match the muscle memory and readiness needed to play the game avoiding injuries and dysfunctional motor movements.

Psychological impact: fostering self-esteem, team building capacities, and overcoming fear of eventual injuries, was pivotal throughout all the Handbook development. Also in this case, the Consortium started from academic findings to adjust the Handbook to the practical findings based on feedback received from the implementations in schools and sports clubs.

Engagement Potential: As an intersectoral and hybrid objective, this was related to all parts of VisiBall and VisiBall Handbook through all the development. Taking into account psychological and sociological theoretical aspects, the engagement mostly relied on practical tests outside the Consortium, constantly adjusting on the feedback coming from players (both V.I. and sighted), parents, trainers, and physical education teachers.

The Handbook development methodology underlines how the practical implementation has been pivotal to match the aforementioned objectives. Hence, we will continue updating the Handbook on the basis of feedback coming from users even after the project completion, especially considering the fact that its development took place within the Covid-19 pandemic that heavily reduced the number of implementations outside the Consortium.

To this point, the Consortium has developed a dedicated long-term improvement methodology.

In order to keep a direct line between the Handbook users and the project Partners, the Consortium has developed direct and indirect tools created ad hoc for 3 different categories: players, trainers/teachers, parents.

The tools are displayed as follows:

Players

Direct Online Tool: digital quiz to evaluate the players satisfaction; open digital questionnaire to allow the players to freely suggest any ideas for improvements or useful changes (integrating the project website) à https://nh3m5qn3ef3.typeform.com/to/KqXnHl4C
Direct Offline Tool: formal feedback collecting tool to be used by the players to collect players’ feedback anonymously. (See annex: measurements players)
Indirect Tools: offline non-formal feedback collecting tools to be used by the players to collect players’ feedback anonymously with post-its, for example.

Example below:

Trainers/teachers

Direct Online Tool: digital quiz to evaluate the trainers’ satisfaction; open digital questionnaire to allow trainers/teachers to freely suggest any ideas for improvements or useful changes (https://nh3m5qn3ef3.typeform.com/to/KqXnHl4C)
Direct Offline Tool: offline formal feedback collecting tool to be used by the players to collect trainers’/teachers’ feedback anonymously. (See annex: measurements teachers/trainers)

Parents

Direct Online Tool: digital quizzes to evaluate the parents’ satisfaction (link)- pictures; open digital questionnaires to allow Parents to freely suggest any ideas for improvements or useful changes (https://nh3m5qn3ef3.typeform.com/to/KqXnHl4C)
Indirect Offline Tool: offline formal feedback collecting tool to be used by the parents to collect players’ feedback anonymously. (See annex: measurements parents)

Indirect Tools: offline non-formal feedback collecting tools to be used by the players to collect players’ feedback anonymously with post-its, for example.

Example below:

The Consortium foresees using these tools for the purpose of further developing the game and maintaining contact with the users even after project completion.

Game Rules

The rules listed below were drafted on the basis of those of the Blind Football (B1) sport, which are defined and maintained by the International Blind Sports Federation(IBSA). The rules listed below refer to IBSA Blind Football (B1) regulation in any lacking or unclear point.

Language Notes

Within the following Rules, numbers which are written in figures must be regarded as binding and necessary for the interpretation of the article in which they are included, while numbers which are written in letters must be regarded as purely indicative.
With the intent of respecting a gender-neutral approach to the language used in these Game Rules, the singular form of “they”, ”their”, “them”, ecc. was adopted to indicate stakeholders of any gender or sex identity.
If inconsistent rules are found between them or between the English version and a non-English version of the Rules, the official version to refer to is the English version. If the English version is not exhaustive, please refer to Matteo CURRELI.

Diagrams

diagram 1: Key pitch areas and points (not to scale)

Goalkeeper’s area.
Penalty area.
Penalty kick spot.
Double penalty kick spot.
Position of the person in the team filling the role of Guide.
Referee tower where the Support Referee is stationed
Defensive Guide area: Part of the pitch in which the goalkeeper acts as a defensive guide by giving directions to their blind teammates during a defensive action; it matches the entire half of the pitch in which their team defends.
Offensive Guide area: Part of the pitch in which the Guide, located at point C, acts as an offensive guide by giving directions to their blind teammates during an offensive action; it matches the entire half of the pitch in which their team attacks.

Rules

1. Identity of the Sport

1.1. The official name of the sport is VisiBall; the name must necessarily be written with the letters "V" and "B" in capital letters.
1.2. The official national representatives of the VisiBall sport are the organizations involved in the Erasmus+ project indicated in the Introduction to these Game Rules.
1.3. Each official national representative has the possibility to assign an additional name to the sport for each of its national languages.
- 1.3.1. In the Italian language, the name of the sport is Calcio Visionario.

2. Pitch

2.1. The sport can be practised on any regular 5-a-side football pitch, measuring a minimum of 38*18 metres and a maximum of 42*22 metres.

3. Equipment

3.1. Rumble ball (or Sound ball): 1 sonorous ball containing rattles that produce a sound that allows blind players to understand the position of the ball and orient themselves on the pitch.
3.2. Goal: A rectangular goal 3 metres wide and 2 metres high.
3.3. Goalkeeper area: A rectangular area (diagram 1: A) 5.82 metres wide and 3 metres deep within which the respective goalkeeper can move and play the ball.
3.4. Penalty area: A semicircular area (diagram 1: B) which includes the goalkeeper’s area and in which the penalty kick is taken against the team committing a foul.
3.5. Penalty kick spot: A penalty spot (diagram 1: C) which is drawn 6 meters from the midpoint between the goal and equidistant from it.
3.6. Double penalty spot: A second spot (diagram 1: D) which is drawn on the pitch 8 metres from the midpoint between the posts and equidistant from them.
3.7. Referee tower: elevated chair (diagram 1: F) commonly used in tennis in which the support referee takes their position.
3.8. Obscuring masks: All blind players on the pitch must have self-adhesive eye patches with a minimum size of 7*5 centimetres on both eyes and, in addition, must wear obscured protective masks; the masks must be fixed so that the player cannot see anything; masks must be worn regardless of the blindness level of the player.
3.9. Protective helmets including nasal septum for the protection of blind players.
3.10. Refereeing tools: 2 whistles, 1 stopwatch, 1 coin with 2 different faces, 1 siren, and 1 megaphone.
3.11. Barriers: Any kind of barrier delimiting the lateral edges of the pitch up to 1 meter over the end of each side so as to prevent the players — and eventually the ball — from leaving the sides of the pitch. Barriers can be physical objects, such as rigid banks, symbolical expedients that give an indication of the presence of the lateral edge of the pitch through sensorial perception different from sight, or human chains, in which a chain of supporters surround the pitch and help blind players being aware of the lateral edges of the pitch through their voice and their touch.

4. Teams & Team Groups

4.1. A match is played by 2 teams.
4.2. Each team is formed by 1 coach, 1 Guide and at least 5 players:
- 4.2.1. 5 players on the pitch, including one team captain;
  - 4.2.1.1. The captain represents their team during the match and they are in charge of addressing the referee and other officials; they must strive to maintain good conduct and sportsmanship within the team; to be recognized among their teammates, the captain must wear a band on one arm.
  - 4.2.1.2. If the captain leaves the pitch for any reason, it will not be necessary to appoint another captain to carry out their duties, except in cases where they have to leave the structure or are expelled.
  - 4.2.1.3. The function of captain may only be assigned to another player when the match is stopped.
- 4.2.2. Each Team Group consists of 16 members: 12 players and 4 operators (coach, vice-coach, doctor, accompanying manager) with a maximum of 7 players on the bench, available for substitutions;
- 4.2.3. The coach is the team's contact person for the referees, decides on substitutions of players and may ask the referees to interrupt the match by time-out, once per half-time for a maximum duration of 1 minute.
4.3. Players can only play 2 roles within their respective teams:
- 4.3.1. Goalkeeper: a goalkeeper can move exclusively inside their own goalkeeper area of 5*3 meters and can use shoulders, arms, forearms or hands to play the ball; only sighted people can play the role of goalkeeper; the goalkeeper cannot leave the goalkeeper area, otherwise penalty kick for the opposing team and cumulative foul; if the ball enters the goalkeeper area and the goalkeeper pronounces the word "stop", no player can play the ball anymore and the ball becomes the exclusive possession of the goalkeeper, otherwise penalty kick for the opposing team and cumulative foul.
- 4.3.2. Footballer: a player with a visual impairment can move around the entire playing pitch without constraints; both sighted and blind players cannot use shoulders, arms, forearms or hands to touch the ball; the movement of the footballers inside the pitch is subject to the restrictions indicated in the game dynamics (see article 9).
4.4. To start the match, 5 players are required for each team, and the 5 players must be distributed as follows:
- 4.4.1. 1 sighted player in the role of goalkeeper;
- 4.4.2. 1 or 2 blind player(s) in the role of blind footballer(s);
- 4.4.3. 2 or 3 sighted players in the roles of sighted footballers.
4.5. The number of blind players must be the same in both teams.

5. Guide

5.1. In addition to the players, each team has a non-playing member called Guide (always indicated with a capital letter) who acts as an offensive guide.
- 5.1.1. The Guide is always positioned behind the opposing team's goal (diagram 1: E).
- 5.1.2. The Guide's task is to give verbal and non-verbal guidance to blind players to help them locate the position of the opposing team's goal, keep them safe by warning them of any danger and coordinating their offensive actions.
- 5.1.3. The Guide may only speak when the ball is in the offensive half of their team's pitch. The Defensive Guide may only speak when the ball is in his team's defensive half of the pitch. If a Guide speaks in his own area, the referee cautions the guide. After two cautions, the guide is sent off.
5.2. Sighted players may act as guides on the pitch to their blind teammates; it will be up to them to coordinate communication with the other sighted player, the goalkeeper and the Guide so that no confusion is generated, and communication is made difficult. They also have to give verbal instructions to blind players to announce their position by exclusively using the word "voy" when they move near a blind player of either team with the intention of avoiding dangerous collisions or to call the ball.
5.3. The ball acts informally as a mobile guide inside the pitch.
5.4. The goalkeeper acts informally as a defensive guide for the blind players when the ball is in the defensive half-pitch and their task is to give useful indications for the coordination of the defense.

6. Refereeing

6.1. There are 2 referees, 1 main referee and 1 support referee:
- 6.1.1. the main referee has the role of main decision-maker in any situation and controls the correct course of play; the main referee has the possibility to interrupt the game to consult the support referee before making a decision; the main referee has the possibility to correct the assistant referee if he considers that the latter's decision concerning the pre-goal rule is wrong. In this case, to restart the game the main referee launches a free ball in between two opposing players or gives the ball to the side that has ball possession.
- 6.1.2. the support referee must check that the sequence of an offensive action has been carried out correctly upon fulfilment of the pre-goal condition or, otherwise, that the action is no longer valid; he may assist the main referee in checking that the players announce their position correctly by saying "voy"; at each change of possession of the ball, he is responsible for saying the colour of the shirt of the person coming into possession of the ball. In addition, the support referee must monitor whether the two sighted players arrange themselves correctly on the pitch and exchange positions correctly (one in one half of the pitch, the other in the other half).
6.2. The position of the main referee is inside the pitch. The support referee shall stand on the referee tower (diagram 1: F) or, if there is no tower, on the pitch if the size of the pitch is equal to or larger than a regular 5-a-side pitch, or off the pitch if the size is smaller than a regular 5-a-side pitch.
6.3. The main referee is equipped with 1 whistle, 1 stopwatch and 1 coin with 2 different faces. The support referee carries a siren or a sound other than the main whistle to signal the activation or deactivation of the pre-goal condition (see rules 8.5.2 and 8.5.3), a normal whistle to signal misconduct regarding the position of sighted players on the pitch and a megaphone to communicate the team entering into possession of the ball. Both must have a notebook to note down cautions, sent-offs and the number of fouls per team.
6.4. Before the start of the match the referees must ask the public to keep silent; subsequently, the main referee throws 1 coin in the presence of the 2 captains, asking for the classic heads or tails; the winning captain can choose the part of the pitch where to play or the first possession of the ball.
6.5. Referees can talk or confer with each other when the game is stopped and if they consider it necessary to make a decision.
6.6. When a referee whistles to stop the game, they must state clearly and loudly the reason why they whistled and give the necessary explanations and indications so that the game can resume; for instance, the position of the ball, the extent of the foul, the penalty, the change in ball possession, the punitive substitution, the substitution on request, etc.
6.7. The main referee may stop the game if the players cause too much confusion; the game will be resumed with a free ball launched by the main referee in between two opposing players or give the ball to the side that had ball possession and, in case of repeated misconduct, the referee will sanction the player in question for unsportsmanlike conduct.

7. Match

7.1. The start of the match is whistled by the main referee.
7.2. 1 match is divided into 2 half-times.
7.3. Each half-time has a duration of 25 minutes with 1 break at the end of each half-time and any time-out called by the teams' coaches.
7.4. The break has a duration of 10 minutes.
7.5. Each time-out has a maximum duration of 2 minutes.
7.6. The time count starts with the start whistle and continues without interrupting even when the game is interrupted; the time count is stopped by the main referee only during the time-outs, at the end of each half-time and at the end of the match.

8. Victory

8.1. The team that scored the most goals at the end of the match wins.
8.2. Goal: A team gains 1 point every time the ball completely crosses the defended goal line by the opposing team.
8.3. If any player kicks the ball into the goal line defended by their team, they score an own goal and award the opposing team 1 point; their own goal does not need the pre-goal condition and is valid regardless of whether the player scoring it is sighted or blind.
8.4. Each player on the pitch has the possibility to score a goal, provided that their team has reached the pre-goal condition.
8.5. Pre-goal condition: In order to have the right to score a goal, the team that has possession of the ball must make at least one pass from a sighted player to a blind player within the offensive half of the offensive pitch during the offensive action.
- 8.5.1. It is necessary to activate the pre-goal condition in case a blind player enters the offensive half-pitch while in possession of the ball or conquers the ball in the offensive half-pitch; in this situation, for the pre-goal condition to be satisfied, the blind player must necessarily pass the ball to a sighted player of their team who, in turn, must necessarily pass the ball to a blind player of their team.
- 8.5.2. The activation of the pre-goal condition shall be announced by the support referee who shall use a siren or a sound other than the main whistle by emitting a single prolonged sound stimulus (if there is no siren or a sound other than the main whistle the support referee shall say "Good"); any goal may be considered valid by the main referee.
- 8.5.3. The validity of the pre-goal condition is lost when: (1) the attacking team brings the ball out from the bottom of the pitch or over the side bank; (2) the defending team sends the ball into the opposite half. In these three cases the support referee will use a siren or a sound different from the main whistle emitting 2 short and consecutive sound stimuli that will signify that the pre-goal condition is no longer valid (if there is no siren or a sound different from the main whistle, the referee will say "No Good").
- 8.5.4. If the attacking team scores a goal without having reached the pre-goal condition, the goal must be cancelled.

9. Game dynamics

9.1. Placement of players on the pitch
- 9.1.1. At any moment of the match, each of the 2 half-pitches must be occupied by at least 1 sighted player of each team; that is to say, for each team, there must always be at least 1 sighted player in the defensive half-court and at least 1 sighted player in the offensive half-pitch.
- 9.1.2. A sighted player can advance with the ball from the defensive half-pitch and enter the offensive half; in this case the other sighted players cannot participate in the action, must go back to the defensive half-pitch and can participate in the action only once they have reached the defensive half; if the sighted player participates in the action in any manner, they receive a cumulative foul and the free kick must be taken from the centre mark by the opposing team.
- 9.1.3. A sighted player can move back with the ball from the offensive half-pitch and enter the defensive half-pitch; in this case the other sighted players cannot take part in the action, must advance into the offensive half-pitch and can only take part in the action once they have reached the offensive half; if the sighted player takes part in the action in any manner not disinterested in the action, they receive a cumulative foul and the free kick must be taken from the centre mark by the opposing team.
- 9.1.4. The support referee monitors the correct application of rule 9.1.
9.2. Ball possession
- 9.2.1. The team in the attacking position is the team that has possession of the ball.
- 9.2.2. A team in the defensive position is the team that does not have possession of the ball.
- 9.2.3. Ball control: the ball is under the control of a blind player as long as it is within a radius of 0.5 metres of the player; if the ball conducted by the blind player is more than 0.5 metres away, it is up to the discretion of the main referee to decide whether or not ball control is still maintained.
- 9.2.4. A sighted player of the team in a defensive position may not take the ball away from a blind player who has ball control, otherwise a cumulative foul against the team in a defensive position will be awarded.
- 9.2.5. If the ball crosses the goal line, the throw-in is taken by the opposing team of the player who last touched the ball; if the goalkeeper takes the throw-in, the goalkeeper takes the ball; if the goalkeeper takes the throw-in, the team with the goal on the opposite end of the pitch from which the ball came out takes a corner kick.
- 9.2.6. If the ball passes the side barrier, it is given by the main referee to the team that did not touch the ball last.
9.3. Communication
- 9.3.1. Players can freely communicate with each other to exchange information or indicate their position.
9.4. Offside
- 9.4.1. There is no offside.
9.5. Substitutions
- 9.5.1. A substitution may occur whenever the game is interrupted by the referee for any reason.
  - 9.5.1.1. There is no limit of substitutions during the match.
  - 9.5.1.2. There is no limit to the number of substitutions during a single interruption of play.
- 9.5.2. A substitution may only take place when the ball is not in play and the following conditions are all met:
  - 9.5.2.1. the game must be stopped;
  - 9.5.2.2. the substitution must be announced through the loudspeakers or by the main referee, specifying the number of the player leaving the pitch and the number of the player entering the pitch;
  - 9.5.2.3. the player leaving the pitch must leave the pitch from the substitution main goal or the substitution zone of their team;
  - 9.5.2.4. the player entering the pitch must do so from the replacement main goal or the replacement zone of their team, but not until the player leaving the pitch has completely crossed the touchline and the referee has granted permission to enter the pitch;
  - 9.5.2.5. the substitution is completed the moment the reserve player enters the pitch, from that moment he/she becomes an active player and the player who has been substituted by them ceases to be an active player.
- 9.5.3. If a player requires medical support, after receiving it they must leave the pitch immediately; they can only be replaced by 1 reserve player when the game is interrupted.
9.6. Physical contact
- 9.6.1. Physical contact (or "contact") is divided into three categories: C1; C2; C3.
  - 9.6.1.1. C1, physical contact of slight intensity: slight contact arm against arm, shoulder against shoulder, leg against leg, foot against foot; in any case, the contact has such an intensity that it does not affect the balance of the opposing player or their offensive action.
    - 6.1.1.1. Contact C1 is never a foul.
    - 6.1.1.2. C1 contact between blind players is not considered a foul.
  - 9.6.1.2. C2, physical contact of medium intensity: arm against arm, shoulder against shoulder, leg against leg, foot against foot; in any case the contact has an intensity such as to impact on the balance of the opposing player or on their offensive action; together with the C2 contact are included the restraints and pushes of medium intensity; usually a C2 contact is not committed with the real intention of impacting on the balance of the player or their action but it does so anyway.
    - 9.6.1.2.1. C2 contact between sighted players is considered a foul.
    - 9.6.1.2.2. C2 contact between sighted and blind players is not considered a foul.
    - 9.6.1.2.3. C2 contact committed in the penalty area is punished with a penalty kick in favour of the team of the player who has suffered the foul, but only if the foul is between sighted players.
  - 9.6.1.3. C3, the physical contact of strong intensity: arm against arm, shoulder against shoulder, leg against leg, foot against foot, pushing and holding of strong intensity, slips that do not impact the ball but impact the player before hitting the ball; in any case the contact impacts on the player's balance and interrupts or otherwise strongly penalizes their offensive action; usually a C3 contact occurs with the intention of stopping the opponent's action.
    - 9.6.1.3.1. C3 contact is always considered a foul regardless of the type of player and, after 5 C3 contacts by the same player, they must be removed from the pitch for the rest of the match.
    - 9.6.1.3.2. C3 contact committed by sighted or blind players inside the penalty area is punished with a penalty kick in favour of the fouled player's team.
  - 9.7. Tackle
    - 9.7.1. A blind player can tackle a sighted player who is in ball possession, while a sighted player can not tackle a blind player who is in ball possession.
    - 9.7.2. A sighted player can not voluntarily intervene or change the trajectory of the shot of a blind player, otherwise the penalty shall be a double penalty kick if it occurs outside the penalty-area (diagram 1: B) or a penalty kick plus a cumulative foul if it occurs inside the penalty-area.
    - 9.7.3. A sighted player can not obstruct the movement of a blind player regardless of ball possession, whether or not they have such possession, otherwise a cumulative foul will result.
    - 9.7.4. Before proceeding with a tackle, the blind players must announce themselves with the word "voy", as in Blind Football (B1), otherwise a cumulative foul for the opposing team and the consequent free kick, penalty kick or double penalty kick.
    - 9.7.5. Sighted players may not oppose blind players, but to ensure greater safety on the pitch they may announce their position with the word "voy" when moving near a blind player of either team; failure to do so is not considered a foul.
  - 9.8. Foul
    - 9.8.1. A foul is the interruption of the game which is proclaimed by at least one referee each time that at least one player otherwise penalized performs at least one of the following prohibited actions against at least one injured player:
      - 9.8.1.1. playing the ball with shoulders, arms, forearms or hands, unless the player is a goalkeeper within their own penalty area;
      - 9.8.1.2. acting dangerously on another player.
    - 9.8.2. When a player commits a foul, the opposing team regains possession of the ball in one of the following ways:
      - 9.8.2.1. free kick: Following a foul, play resumes with a free kick taken by the team that was fouled at the point where the irregularity occurred.
      - 9.8.2.2. penalty kick: Following a foul, if the foul has been committed in the penalty area, play resumes with a penalty kick taken by the team that was fouled.
    - 9.8.3. When a player or the goalkeeper commits a foul to a player standing inside the penalty area, a penalty kick is awarded to the opposing team.
    - 9.8.4. A team suffers a cumulative foul every time at least 1 of its players commits a foul.
      - 9.8.4.1. double penalty kick: On the sixth cumulative foul and each foul after it, the double penalty kick is kicked from the double penalty spot (Diagram 1: D) and with all players on the pitch positioned behind the line of the ball with respect to the direction of the offensive action.
      - 9.8.4.2. The sum of cumulative fouls is reset to zero at the end of the first half.
    - 9.8.5. Any free kick, penalty kick and double penalty kick may be kicked by either a sighted or a blind player.
    - 9.8.6. In every moment of the game, only 1 sighted player of each team can stay in their offensive half, while the others must stay in the defensive half, otherwise a foul for the opposing team and the consequent free kick from the centre mark will result.
    - 9.8.7. A sighted defensive player can advance the ball and enter the offensive half; in that case the other sighted player cannot take part in the action and must go back to the defensive half; the latter can take part in the action only once they have arrived in the defensive half, otherwise the same team will suffer a foul and the consequent free kick from the centre mark.
    - 9.8.8. An offensive sighted player can move the ball back and enter the defensive half; in that case the other sighted player cannot take part in the action and must advance in the offensive half; the latter can only take part in the action once they have reached the offensive half, otherwise they will be penalized by a foul for the opposing team and the consequent free kick from the centre mark.
    - 9.8.9. A player who has committed 5 personal fouls during a match must be substituted immediately; this player can no longer return to the pitch during the match but can remain on their team's substitution bench.
    - 9.8.10. A referee punishes a player with a yellow card when a tackle performed by the player, or their explicit attitude or behaviour is considered deliberately dangerous or disrespectful towards other people or their values.
    - 9.8.11. A referee punishes a player with a red card when the player is punished with a second yellow card during a single match or if the referee considers that a tackle is performed in a particularly dangerous manner.
      - 9.8.11.1. A player sent off with a red card during a match may be substituted in accordance with the Game Rules, but may not remain on their team's substitution bench.
    - 9.8.12. In case multiple players are expelled or injured, if there are fewer than 3 players (including the goalkeeper) in at least 1 of the teams, the match must be declared ended.

10. Additional rules

10.1. The referees can interrupt the game for unsportsmanlike acts and end the game also because of one player’s behaviour or suspend it permanently for both teams.
10.2. Any referee's decision or judgement may only be appealed to the competent federation or representing organisation and only after 3 days from the day of the match.
10.3. In public sporting events, the presence of a doctor is always mandatory, and an ambulance if the distance to the nearest hospital is more than 10 kilometres.

Tips & Tricks

The Game Rules represent the general and ideal framework in which VisiBall should be played. Nevertheless, this Handbook takes into account also the contexts in which VisiBall is designed to be practiced, that is school.

Playing VisiBall in a school needs specific measures to be taken in order to ensure safety and playability. The following list offers alternative options to the specific points of the Game Rules with a view to helping coaches and educators in adapting the Rules to the ecological needs of their work contexts.

2.1.1. Ideally, VisiBall should be played on the sports pitches that are commonly found in schools, even if they do not fit perfectly into the regulatory dimensions.

3.11.1. Rigid banks are made of rigid material, without sharp or blunt edges, in a position stable enough to withstand impact of the ball and players, at least 1.5 metres high and with a maximum inclination of 10 degrees to the line perpendicular to the ground. Such banks are commonly used in 5-a-side Blind Football (B1).

3.11.2. Symbolic expedients represented by delimiters made of light and flexible plastic, generally of conical shape and low height, which are distributed at 1.5 metres along the side lines; when the ball or a blind player leaves the edge of the pitch delimited by the symbolic barriers, the referee stops the game; the game resumes and with the change of possession of the ball a lateral foul is taken with the feet.

3.11.3. Human chains composed of people distributed along the side lines at a distance of 1.5 metres from them and who have been correctly instructed to put the ball back into the pitch (in a neutral way in the space in front of them) when it crosses the side lines; when the ball goes out of the sidelines of the pitch, the referee whistles to warn blind players; the human barrier can also contribute to the safety of blind players by helping the referee to monitor and warn about the safety distance.

3.11.4. If there is no hard barrier on the side of the pitch, if the ball crosses the side lines, the team of the player who last touched the ball is awarded a throw-in.

6.2.1. In the absence of the tower, on the pitch if the dimensions of the pitch are equal to or greater than a regulation 5-a-side pitch, or off the pitch if the dimensions are smaller than a regulation 5-a-side pitch.

9.8.6.1. If there are 3 sighted players, the third is free to move in the offensive and defensive halves of the pitch.

9.8.7.1. Again, in the case of 3 sighted players on the pitch, the player assigned the role of wild-card remains free to move around the pitch.

9.8.8.1. Again, in the case of 3 sighted players on the pitch, the player assigned the role of wild-card remains free to move around the pitch.

Training and Warm-up Exercises

In this section, VisiBall coaches and trainers will find 2 sets of training exercises and 1 set of warm-up exercises conceived specifically for teams composed of players with visual impairments — playing as blind players, eventually wearing obscured protective masks — and players without visual impairments — playing as sighted players.

Glossary

BLIND: Blind player.
SIGHTED: Sighted player.
GUIDE: Any person inside or outside the pitch that uses their voice to help the blind players orient themselves within the pitch.
COACH: The person in the pitch that has the role of coach; a coach can be a guide as well.
SIDE BANKS: The physical objects on the sides of the pitch to prevent the players and the ball from leaving the pitch; they can be replaced by other types of barriers (see Game Rules 3.11.1. , 3.11.2. and 3.11.3.).
VOY: International standard word used in blind soccer to easily give an indication of the position of a player to blind players; sighted players may say “voy” as well to prevent an impact with a blind player.

First training of the week

N°	OBJECT	TIME 120'	OBJECTIVES
1	Initial circle of discussion and sharing	5'	Greeting, sharing and explanation of the whole training
2	Free movement of the players in the pitch for the perception of the playing space, of the goals and of the banks	5'	Orientation - Perception of breadth and depth - take confidence in the supports and perceive the energy of the race - Memory - Communication
3	Activation in sound line	5'	Reaction and perception of sound - Attentional capacity - Perception of the width of the pitch - Communication - Knowledge of one's body - Motor patterns and coordination skills - Intersegmental coordination - Joint mobility - Proprioception - Gaits
4	1-2-3-FREEZE! game with and without the ball	15'	Feeling - Orientation - Reaction and perception of sound - Communication - Sound visualization - Contact - Domination of the ball
5	Ball control in place and in motion with forceful touches	10'	Ball control - Sensitivity - Posture - Coordination skills - Conditional skills (Strength) - Posture - Communication - Orientation
6	Cross pass and shoot	15'	Ball control - Transmission - Conduction - Shooting - Communication - Orientation - Role of the guides
7	2 vs 1 the Blind on defense	10'	Control of the ball - Transmission - Conduction - Shooting - Communication - Orientation - Role of the guides - Defense of the goal (Ability of the defender to stay between 2 sounds) - Closing the sound line of passage - Tackle - Intercept - Losing your marker - Decision making 1vs1, transmission and shooting - Sound stress training - Defender's declaration training
8	3 vs 1 the Sighted on defense	10'	Control of the ball - Transmission - Conduction - Shooting - Communication - Orientation - Role of the guides - Defense of the goal - Closing the sound line of passage - Tackle - Intercept - Unmarking - Choice between 1vs1, transmission and shooting - Maximum amplitude search - Sound stress training - Defender declaring training
9	Simultaneous half-court exercises: A) 2 vs 2 half-court match B) 2 vs 2 half-court ball possession	20'	All the principles of individual and collective tactics in the possession and non-possession phase - Perception and Orientation in a space different (half court) - Communication
10	Free game of VisiBall across the pitch	20'	All the principles of individual and collective tactics in the Possession and Non-Possession phase - In particular: sound staggering, sound depth, sound amplitude, sound concentration - Transitions - Communication
11	Final circle of discussion and sharing	5'	Final comparison with references on training and on other relevant aspects that the players want to bring to the group

Initial circle of discussion and sharing (5')

INTRODUCTION: The Initial circle of comparison and sharing is an important moment because it sets up the atmosphere to share goals and stages of training. For blind people it is important to visualize the sequence of training activities.

Furthermore, the circle can allow you to report any needs or problems that can be faced or sent back to the final circle to the Coach, the Staff or the group.

DESCRIPTION: Blind players are accompanied from the changing room inside the pitch by guides and sighted players. Once they arrive, they form a circle inside the pitch.

Free movement of the players in the pitch for the perception of the playing space, of the goals and of the banks (5')

INTRODUCTION: The free movement of all the players within the pitch is a necessary phase for blind players for the perception of play areas, goals and banks. It is important for everyone to get into the training atmosphere. It should be emphasized that blind people need this time, which on top of the previous activity and the next phase, these three steps create the optimal condition at a physical and psychological level to be completely receptive to the activities and objectives of the training.

DESCRIPTION: To start learning the necessary communication: the fundamental one of "announcing" with the "Voy", as well as how to give information for the blind regarding the depth of the playing pitch (without banks ).

Activation in sound line (5')

INTRODUCTION: This training phase will be very useful to understand the dimensions of the space based on the sounds, understand the distances (e.g. what is a meter), work on the sound memory, all basic elements for the orientation and the ability of the blind to know where it is placed in space.

DESCRIPTION: Players position themselves in a line, with their back turned to the bank. Following the sequence of blind person next to a sighted person. The Coach instructs one player at a time to move according to the sound; the other players must remain in the sound line helped by mutual communication until the coach decides. Maintaining this line, the Coach asks the players to perform various gaits, mobility and movements, alternating with exercises that stimulate motor patterns (e.g., rolling) or coordination skills (e.g., coupling of movements).

POSSIBLE VARIATION: It is possible to introduce a work in pairs (sighted with blind) on mobility, maintaining the sound line.

1-2-3-FREEZE! game with and without the ball (15')

INTRODUCTION: Popular fun game originated by red light, green light that stimulates the development of important skills and promotes physical contact and interaction between the players.

DESCRIPTION: The game can be proposed in a first phase without the ball with a sighted player to count and in a second phase with the sound ball with a blind person to count. Three players grab themselves arm in arm from the back (2 sighted and 1 blind) and form a team. They move forward until they say "FREEZE!". The team moving at that moment is moved back by 4 meters. The team that reaches the opposite bank first wins. When the team advances with the sound ball, the players must pass it and at the moment of the word "FREEZE" one must stop it with the sole. The blind player who counts, if she/he hears the sound of the ball, asks the team to retreat. It is important in the time available to rotate the players who count and to change the composition of the teams.

Ball control in place and in motion with forceful touches (10')

INTRODUCTION: A fundamental skill for any football player is the ability to control the ball. The more this ability is developed, the less mental, physical and technical commitment is required. Players have a greater possibility of freedom of action and thought. For the blind players, as they can’t pass the ball with the aid of sight, this ability requires specific and in-depth training in ball control.

DESCRIPTION: Each player has a sound ball and must perform the technical gestures requested by the Coach, who alternates moments of work with the ball with breaks in which it stimulates a work of Strength.

Types of ball control:

Free ball control: The players move freely around the pitch.
Ball control on the spot: Placed in a stable position, they execute different technical moves such as bell-shaped conduction (with variation of rhythm), heel toe, ankle rotation.
Ball control in motion from bank to bank with vertical movement, zig zag, change of direction, change of direction
Ball control on imaginary lines and curves of geometric figures indicated by the guides and the sighted players.

Follows a series of possible ball control exercises that intersect with other elements of football technique such as management, changes of direction, direction and rhythm, stops and starts, feints.

Control on the spot:

bell-shaped conduction on the spot, bell-shaped conduction on compass, bell-shaped conduction on clock (or, anterior)
tap on the spot, tap on compass, tap on clock
roll, pinch
speed changes on the spot (bell, tap, roll)
change touches the bell-shaped conduction + stop (right, left)
Combination exercise in
control + touch ball + touch sound -control other ball with hand or foot
to the beat
control music
bulbs for sense heel tip, screwdriver, outside-inside)
hit and carryover (internal, neck, external)
call to V and L and combination
scissor/ reveal in conjunction orientation
jumps turns around the ball

Fakes:

and allotment-stop
asleep allotment
bell-shaped conduction with the sole and allotment
wide – bell-shaped conduction(s)

Examples of Control in free movement for the pitch:
bell-shaped conduction

conduct by varying the speed
stop and restart / change direction / direction
double bell-shaped conduction touch
conduct ball exchange with partner
variation of bell-shaped conduction conduction or bell-shaped conduction touches foot use (e.g., 1 right 2 left)
right only / left only
small or large
steer
drawing numbers or letters
v call / call to

Cross pass and shoot (15')

INTRODUCTION: Tt is essential for any visually impaired 5-a-side football team to be able to make a cross pass using the side banks as an aid so that the visually impaired player can orientate himself more easily with respect to the position of the ball after the pass received: the more this ability is developed, together with ball control, the less the opposing team has points of reference: the players thus have a greater possibility of freedom of action and thought.

DESCRIPTION: All players stand in the 4 corners of the pitch each with a sound ball, therefore 2 for each corner, a blind and a sighted person (who also has the task of helping the blind to find the right positioning). 2 players start in turn from opposite corners with the voice signal of the blind player. After a short run, both players pass the ball diagonally and go to receive the ball from their partner; once checked they continue towards the goal to finish. The blind player will have the support of the attack guide behind the goal who will provide essential information such as the distance to the goal. At the end of their turn, they position themselves in the row in front of the starting one. At the same time, two other players start from the opposite corner, always one sighted and one blind. The Coach can stimulate the players to pass the ball diagonally once with the right foot and once with the left, depending on the starting point.

2 vs 1 the Blind on defense (10')

INTRODUCTION: In this first situational exercise the importance of communication in the pitch must be emphasized; in particular the following aspects should be considered: a) the premise to announce themselves (Voy); the guidance provided inof attack and defense by guides; c) instructions of the sighted player on the pitch who can help the blind and allow their effective collaboration to create the best conditions for concluding the action.

DESCRIPTION: Game situation that in the offensive phase trains the Regoal (mandatory passage from sight to blind). The action begins with the blind player passing the ball to the sighted player; it will be necessary for the ball to return to the blind at least once, after which they can both finish. The goalkeeper cooperates with the defender and provides him with essential information such as the distance to the ball carrier. The defender must close the sound line between the sound of the ball and that of the goalkeeper (which indicates the position of the goal to be defended). The attack guide communicates with the teammate.

A further rule for this exercise is that the sighted player has 4 seconds to transmit or shoot, in order to train the quick choice. Once the action is over, the players on the pitch help the blind person to position themselves in the new position.

It should be emphasized that the blind defender waiting for the pre-goal to be fulfilled, could leave the sighted person free and focus on marking the blind player who must necessarily receive the ball.

Another brief note on Orientation: in this first exercise we begin to move according to the game situation and therefore players should ask themselves 3 questions: 1) where am I? 2) where do I go? 3) Why am I going?

3 vs 1 the Sighted on defense (10')

DESCRIPTION: Compared to the previous game situation, there is a double superiority, but the defender is a sighted player. It is important for the success of the action that in addition to effective communication there is a great mobility for losing the opponent and broadening the pitch to always create 2 lines of pass that a sighted person alone cannot close.

Simultaneous half-court exercises (10’)

The whole group of players is divided in two groups and each group performs each exercise in each half-pitch. After the first exercise, each group switches to the other exercise.

A) 2 vs 2 half-court match

INTRODUCTION: An extremely important game to train the communication strategies, including paraverbal (e.g. training variant, it may be that the Goalkeeper acts at the same time from attack and defense guide) communication and in general effective communication for all players.

DESCRIPTION: In this the application of collective tactics is important in the 2 phases as well as the importance of being quick in transitions. The small size of the pitch allows a continuous formation of duels, and the choice continues whether to give cover to my teammate or to mark the opponent, also depending on whether the Regoal was successful. Very useful game for losing the opponent (when, where and how) even using the banks.

B) 2 vs 2 half-court ball handling

DESCRIPTION: 2vs2 ball possession that occurs simultaneously with a 2vs2 game. This exercise aims to train communication and continuous connection between teammates. It stimulates the players’ decision-making: whether to pass the ball or face the opponent in 1vs1. Also, it is training for improving the protection of the ball, the use of the body and the banks , the movements to lose an opponent in general and in particular for those in support.

Free game of VisiBall across the pitch (20')

DESCRIPTION: Free game, beyond the rules of the game. All players can express themselves and the staff can observe. The connections and continuous communication between the players and the guides make the game a highly rich and stimulating moment and at the same time a great training tool.

Final circle of discussion and sharing (5')

INTRODUCTION: After an intense training that demanded athletes to be present in all spheres (emotional, psychological, cognitive, physical, technical-tactical), the final circle represents a moment to restore internal balance. Closing a good circle seals the well-being that can be gained from an activity that puts people highly at stake. The group can take the path to the locker rooms, with the help of the sighted and the blind and nurture that sense of team that represents the emblem of feeling part of something wonderful.

DESCRIPTION: the final circle allows the players to be able to verbalize the experience and offers the opportunity to clarify situations that emerged during training both from the point of view of game dynamics and relational dynamics.

Second training of the week

N°	OBJECT	TIME 120'	OBJECTIVES
1	Initial circle of discussion and sharing	5'	Greeting, sharing and explanation of training
2	Free movement of the players in the pitch for the perception of the playing space, of the goals and of the banks	5'	Orientation - Perception of breadth and depth - take confidence in the supports and perceive the energy of the race - Memory - Communication
3	Activation in sound line	10'	Reaction and perception of sound - Attentional capacity - Perception of the width of the pitch - Communication - Knowledge of one's body - Motor patterns and coordination skills - Intersegmental coordination - Joint mobility - Proprioception - Gaits
4	Speed preceded by tactile supports inside and outside the circles, circumventing and snapping back	10'	Support and touch - Speed - Orientation - Perception of the sound path to be made - Communication - Coordinative corrections
5	Free pass in pairs across the pitch	10'	Training in knowing how to declare the presence during the continuous run (avoiding clashes and receiving the ball) - Sound concentration - Communication aimed at finding the ball - Orientation - Perception of amplitude and depth - Occupy the silent zone (light zone) with separation from the sound density - Use of the banks
6	Free pass with support across the pitch - Pause at the whistle with communication of the occupied zone	10'	Declaring the presence during the continuous run (avoid clashes and receive the ball) - Sound concentration on 2 voices (increased sound stress) - Occupation of the useful vertex of the triangle - Communication aimed at finding the ball - Orientation - Perception of amplitude and depth - Search for the silent area (light area) with separation from the sound density - Display of the position of the occupied pitch
7	Possession 8 vs 4 - Goalkeepers and Wild-card Guides	5'	Ball control - Transmission - Ball conduction - Communication - Orientation - Role of sighted people as references on the pitch - Closing the sound line of passage - Tackle - Intercept - Unmarking - Choice between 1vs1 and transmission - Sound stress training - Defender declaration training - Sound attentional capacity
8	Possession 6 vs 4 - Wild-card goalkeepers	10'	Ball control - Transmission - Ball conduction - Communication - Orientation - Role of sighted people as references on the pitch - Closing the sound line of passage - Tackle - Intercept - Unmarking - Choice between 1vs1 and transmission - Sound stress training - Defender declaration training - Sound attentional capacity
9	Match between 2 teams: from 1 vs Goalkeeper to 4 vs 3	15'	Mix of game situations with numerical superiority with training of the principles of individual and collective tactics in the two phases + transitions - Communication
10	Free game of VisiBall across the pitch	35'	All the principles of individual and collective tactics in the Possession and Non-Possession phase - In particular: sound staggering, sound depth, sound amplitude, sound concentration - Transitions - Communication
11	Final circle of discussion and sharing	5'	Final comparison with references on training and on other relevant aspects that the players want to bring to the group

Initial circle of discussion and sharing (5')

Furthermore, the circle can allow you to report any needs or problems that can be faced or sent back to the final circle to the Coach, the Staff or the group.

DESCRIPTION: Blind players are accompanied from the changing room inside the pitch by guides and sighted players. Once they arrive, they form a circle inside the pitch.

Free movement of the players in the pitch for the perception of the playing space, of the goals and of the banks (5')

Activation in sound line (5')

POSSIBLE VARIATION: It is possible to introduce a work in pairs (sighted with blind) on mobility, maintaining the sound line.

Speed preceded by tactile supports inside and outside the circles, circumventing and snapping back (10')

DESCRIPTION: Players stand in 4 lines, each of which is made up of a sighted person and a blind person. At the signal of the coach, the first players in each row have a flat circle in front of them and must enter and exit it (horizontally or vertically) as quickly as possible. Then they must sprint at maximum speed until they bypass a player positioned about 8 meters and then re-enter behind their teammate in a row. Blind players for bypassing must listen to the voice of the guide (or goalkeeper) and to reposition the voice of the teammate. The presence of the flat circle stimulates the tactile perception of the supports in the blind.

VARIATION: contact with the ground, perception of distance from the ground, important for knowing how to fall (high risk of accidents).

Free pass in pairs across the pitch (10')

DESCRIPTION: 4 couples are formed, each one made up of a sighted and a blind player (in addition to that of the 2 goalkeepers); each couple is free to move within the playing pitch passing a sound ball. The guides positioned near the goals allow one to understand the depth of the pitch and sighted players can help the blind with suitable communication. As the minutes go by, it is important to be able to take longer and longer passes and create as much mobility as possible, looking for the quiet areas of the pitch. The Coach can change the composition of the pairs to foster connection between all players.

Free pass with support across the pitch - Pause at the whistle with communication of the occupied zone (10')

DESCRIPTION: Teams are formed by 2 sighted people and 1 blind person to allow a higher dynamism. It is important that all teams can form a well-recognizable triangle and therefore the movement of the individual players is continually aimed at breaking the triangle and immediately reassembling a new one. Every 2'30” the Coach will give some seconds of recovery and will ask each player to say which area of the pitch he is in (pitch divided into 8 zones, see drawing).

Possession 8 vs 4 - Goalkeepers and Wild-card Guides (5')

INTRODUCTION: this exercise trains the continuous choice within the sound stress and the ability to communicate continuously according to the game and the need to announce oneself.

DESCRIPTION: 8 vs 4 ball possession with 2 teams of 4 players (2 sighted and 2 blind each) plus 2 pairs of wild-cards formed by goalkeepers and guides. The team in possession therefore is in clear numerical superiority and has the purpose of maintaining possession. The blind player has only 4” to avoid being opposed by an opposing sighted player.

Possession 6 vs 4 - Wild-card goalkeepers (10')

INTRODUCTION: Compared to the previous exercise, as there is a lower numerical superiority, the choice between passing or overcoming the opponent is more stimulated.

DESCRIPTION: Similar to the previous one, but with only 2 wild-cards, and the goalkeepers are in their usual position in the penalty area. Therefore, the team in possession always has a deep support. The blind player has only 4” to avoid being opposed by an opposing sighted player.

Match between 2 teams: from 1 vs Goalkeeper to 4 vs 3 (15’)

DESCRIPTION: Match in which 2 teams face each other with continuous game situations (with transitions) with the start of the players divided into 4 sequences that are repeated for the duration of the match.

First sequence

B1 vs GK

B3 + S4 vs B1

B1 + B2 + S1 vs B3 + S4

B3 + B4 + S3 + S4 vs B1 + B2 + S1

Second sequence

B3 vs GK

B2 + S2 vs B3

B3 + B4 + S3 vs B2 + S2

B1 + B2 + S1 + S2 vs B3 + B4 + S3

Third sequence

B2 vs GK

B4 + S3 vs B2

B1 + B2 + S2 vs B4 + S3

B3 + B4 + S3 + S4 vs B1 + B2 + S2

Forth sequence

B4 vs GK

B1 + S1 vs B1

B3 + B4 + S4 vs B1 + S1

B1 + B2 + S1 + S2 vs B3 + B4 + S4

Free game of VisiBall across the pitch (35’)

Final circle of discussion and sharing (5’)

DESCRIPTION: The final circle allows the players to be able to verbalize the experience and offers the opportunity to clarify situations that emerged during training both from the point of view of game dynamics and relational dynamics.

Warm-up

Free movement of the players in the field for the perception of the playing space, goals and banks (5')

DESCRIPTION: As it happens in training, the free movement of the players in the field is even more important before the start of a competition, because of the normal tension that is created. It is a necessary phase for the blind players for the perception of the game space, of the goals and of the banks and for everyone to take care of the climate and the team communication.

Activation in sound line with the ball (10')

DESCRIPTION: Another preparatory phase to the global activation of the player. Players with a sound ball each position themselves in line with their backs to the sidelines in an order that sees a blind person next to a sighted person. The coach gives simple, familiar instructions to put the players at ease and create confidence with the ball and calm communication within the team.

Free pass in pairs across the pitch (5')

DESCRIPTION: It is important in the pre-game to do known things and the "Pass in pairs" is a simple and useful exercise. Four pairs are formed, each consisting of a sighted player and a blind player (in addition to the two goalkeepers); each pair is free to move around the field of play passing a sound ball. The guides placed near the goals allow one to understand the depth of the field and the sighted players can help the blind with suitable communication. As the minutes go by, it is important to be able to make longer and longer passes and to create as much mobility as possible, looking for the silent areas of the field.

Speed preceded by tactile supports inside and outside the circles, outflanking and sprinting back (7')

DESCRIPTION: the players are arranged in 4 rows, each consisting of a sighted and a blind person. The first players of each row have a flat circle in front of them and must enter and exit it (horizontally or vertically) with maximum speed until the signal of the Coach. At that moment, they must sprint at maximum speed until they get around a player positioned at about 8 meters and then return behind their row mate. Blind players must listen to the guide's (or goalkeeper's) voice and to reposition themselves, they must listen to their teammate's voice. The presence of the flat circle stimulates the tactile perception of the supports in blind players.

1 vs Goalkeeper (8')

DESCRIPTION: Conduct aimed at the conclusion, with departure from various positions with the return at maximum speed of the player in the new position, to train a possible negative transition. It trains the communication between players and the attack guide.

2 vs 2 in rotation (10')

DESCRIPTION: This drill begins with the announcement of a blind player. The purpose is to get into the match atmosphere with a two-on-two game situation that occurs very frequently in a Visionary Football game. Players rotate in positions to occupy all possible positions. After the first pass, an adaptation of the defenders is created with a change of positions or marking.

Technical aspects

Safety

Safety is an essential element while doing any kind of activity in our daily life, sports disciplines, of course, do not overlook the need to be designed, developed and carried out in accordance with precise parameters that guarantee the safety of those who practise them. This is particularly true and important when it comes to sports activities that include people with sensory, intellectual or physical disabilities, whether they are adapted or unified sports. VisiBall, from this point of view, is a sport in which safety is guaranteed not only by a set of rules and precise structural requirements, but also by a very high level of attention and participation by all those involved. The absolute silence required of spectators, the attention of the referee as well as sighted players, and the concentration required of blind players, are examples that illustrate safety principles.

Sidewalls and safety space at the back of the pitch

In order to organise a safe VisiBall match, the pitch must be delimited at the banks by barriers which, according to the regulations, must be approximately 1.30 m high and which extend along the entire perimeter of the pitch. Obviously, in contexts where there are no such infrastructures, like in a school gymnasium, they can be replaced by "human sidelines'', i.e. barriers made up of groups of students arranged in a line who do not actively participate in the game, yet are responsible for vocally signalling the presence of the sideline to their teammates with visual impairments and for throwing the ball back into the pitch with their feet in such a way as to reproduce the "wall-beating" effect provided by classic sidelines. This latter method also allows children to be part of the game, to maintain a high level of concentration and attention on what is being done and to understand the importance of sound sources for the orientation of those with visual impairments. In addition to the side rails, there must be a free safety space at the bottom of the court of at least 2 m in order to avoid possible injuries of players who are unable to stop their run-in time.

The presence of sighted players on the pitch

The presence of two sighted players per team is an element that arguably contributes to significantly increasing the level of safety of VisiBall compared, for example, to a similar discipline such as 5-a-side blind football. This presence, in fact, is not only a vehicle for integration or an element that contributes to make the game more fluid and dynamic, but a source of greater physical and mental safety for people with visual disabilities on the pitch. Essential in this sense, but not only, is the ability of players, both sighted and not, to communicate quickly and effectively, through conventional signals such as the "voy", used to signal one's presence when acting as a defender, or the "stop" that sighted players can use whenever they consider that their teammate with a visual impairment is in a dangerous situation. For these mechanisms to work, it is desirable that the members of a team speak the same language and can get to know each other, even if only for a few minutes, before the match. This gives blind and players with visual impairments the opportunity to learn and recognise the voices of their teammates and to distinguish them from the rest of the players, as well as to establish between sighted and blind people a team communication code to be used during the game.

Concentration and technical-tactical skills required of blind players

In order to be able to play VisiBall or basically any sport, the person with a visual impairment needs to draw on his entire background of resources, both physical and mental. If, in fact, the lack of sight naturally leads blind players to concentrate on external stimuli that they pick up through the other senses, this is not enough to allow them to move at a sustained speed on a limited and well-defined playing surface. In order to enable full autonomous participation and to avoid as far as possible traumatic events such as injuries or collisions, it is essential that blind players have a detailed knowledge of the dimensions and characteristics of the playing surface on which they play. For this reason, it is desirable that a staff member or a sighted teammate, properly instructed on how to do it, support blind players to explore the pitch, flagging up key areas to be considered. In this way, the person with a visual impairment can build up a mental map of the area, exercise muscle memory and learn to orient themselves independently. It is also of paramount importance to build a relationship of trust between the players with visual impairments and their sighted teammates as well as the staff outside the pitch through a series of exercises of reaction to sound and voices to be carried out, preferably in the warm-up phase. Finally, it is important to train body awareness. Although the sighted figures can contribute significantly to avoiding traumatic events, the person with a visual impairment should have the ability to perceive dangerous situations and avoid them as much as possible. The level of concentration of everyone, disabled or not, must therefore be very high.

The authority of the match director

Refereeing a VisiBall match is not an easy task and it is exactly this consideration that has led us to stipulate in the rules that the optimal refereeing condition for this sport is the presence of a referee and an assistant referee. The first referee must be totally focused on the game, while the assistant referee is responsible for determining, for example, whether the pre-goal condition is valid at that moment. This division of tasks means that the first referee can not only establish whether or not there are conditions for whistling an irregularity (we must bear in mind that the criteria for a clash between two blind players and two sighted players are very different), but can also monitor the safety of the players on the pitch. In fact, whenever a game situation arises that is dangerous for the physical safety of the players, the referee is obliged to interrupt the game and to resume it later with a dropped ball. Finally, like all the figures in and around the playing surface, the referee and his assistant play a very important communicative role. In fact, they are required to give a series of indications to players with visual impairments such as whether an irregularity has been whistled at a player and the consequent free kick/rejector for the opposing team, as well as whether or not the ball has been pre-gone by one team and, consequently, won by the opposing team. All this information allows blind and players with visual impairments to better understand the development of the game action and avoid situations of disorientation with respect to the offensive or defensive attitude to be adopted; situations in which the subjects in question risk wandering the pitch and become, against their will, obstacles for the players of the opposing team.

Evaluation

There is no better evaluation than the one given by people who practiced the game. Below are some excerpts from interviews taken on September 3, 2021 in Thessaloniki with members of the Italian VisiBall team. The comments illustrate the advantages of VisiBall compared to regular blind football.

“I think that in general blind football greatly contributes to the improvement of life of blind people, because it requires the player to develop a wide range of skills - for example orientation in the pitch, the ability to coordinate the arms and the legs, in general the parts of the body, in order to be able to do this activity. And you are subjected to a lot of auditory stimuli, such as the voices of the people surrounding you - the coaches, the guides, your own teammates, the opposing teammates. So you have to do a lot of things simultaneously and it trains your brain to face these challenges…. What is the plus of VisiBall - social integration? Because in blind football, the sighted people around the pitch only help you to play, they are like your eyes, like the eyes that you don’t have. Instead, in VisiBall, they contribute like you to the scoring of your team. They build up the action, they are with you, you and them are at the same level. This is really important in life. Because it shows that blind people and sighted people play, obviously with special rules, on the same level and pitch.”

Jacopo LILLI, а v.i. footballer and VisiBall co-developer

“In B1 a lot of times, when a player has the ball, 2 or 3 or 4 more players, all blind, are on the ball, so the action is really dangerous. There are a lot of crashes. But in VisiBall a lot of time there is 1 versus 1 blind person, because the game is set like that. So … the safety is much better. And the second thing is, for me and for a lot of other sighted players, that it is very fun. It is a competitive game and you can score goals and enjoy this with all of them…. It (VisiBall) is a new sport and like always - you go to play tennis the first time, the second time, and it is not really fun. When you start to learn the rules and the movement and all of the other things, the third game is much more fun. … the good things about the sport are a lot. … I think there is good competition in this sport. So (I) believe a lot in this - you do not have to limit or restrict yourself when you play. And the other thing is safety. So, a lot of blind people can join the game.”

Andrea CHELLINI, a sighted footballer, B1 blind football goal-keeper and VisiBall coach and player

“In blind football, the passes of even the best players are not so precise. So, you have to lose your energy to go after the ball, to try to capture it, and to control it. This fact in VisiBall is less problematic, because the passes of good football players, not bad ones, are more precise, so you can use this energy to better perform the action. And this is the reason why the game is faster and more involved.”

Jacopo LILLI, а v.i. footballer and VisiBall co-developer

“So, we have to win the skepticism of a lot of people surrounding blind players, blind people in general. They are convinced about their ways of doing things and it is very difficult to move them from this approach. So maybe it is easier to convince a person that is outside the world of blind than it is to convince one that is inside the world of blind with these radical ideas and methodologies.”

Jacopo LILLI, а v.i. footballer and VisiBall co-developer

Feedback concerning any changes observed among sighted VisiBall players: “Sure - about the communication. The point of view about the blind people - you understand them better and start to consider a lot of things that you didn’t understand before. For example, long passes - you do not do it. You have to start to think about a lot of new methods to pass the ball, to make a goal, and a lot of technical issues in this new sport. And it is fun, even because of this. It is hard, but it is really fun.”

Andrea CHELLINI, a sighted footballer, B1 blind football goal-keeper and VisiBall coach and player

“And if you do not communicate in this game, you can’t play. And this is the hardest thing to make a sighted player understand, especially if he is good. And the other thing that is very hard to understand for example to blind football players, especially the best ones, is that they are convinced that if they get the ball, they can do whatever they want to do alone. They start, they go towards the net and the final result is to score a goal. VisiBall is totally different. They have to pass the ball to their sighted and blind teammates if they want to score a goal. Because if not - the goal is not valid. And this is a key element of VisiBall. You have to pass the ball within the team. … It is very difficult to make a blind player understand that “I have the ball, towards the net, I am alone against the world” is not football. That is athleticism - you are alone with your records. Football is another thing. Football is a team game. If you don’t pass the ball, you are not going to do anything.”

Jacopo LILLI, а v.i. footballer and VisiBall co-developer

References

Blind Football Rules from IBSA: https://blindfootball.sport/about-football/rules-and-downloads/
Blind Football IBSA: https://blindfootball.sport
Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD): https://www.un.org/development/desa/disabilities/convention-on-the-rights-of-persons-with-disabilities.html
Play schemes made with SoccerTutor.com Tactics Manager

back

table of contents

table of contents

Visionary Football: A mixed-futsal 5 for sighted and unsighted players

Handbook

Preface

Introduction

Why a new sport?

Who is this handbook made for?

The educational value of VisiBall

Background of the VisiBall sport

Research & Development method

Players

Trainers/teachers

Parents

Game Rules

Language Notes

Diagrams

Rules

1. Identity of the Sport

2. Pitch

3. Equipment

4. Teams & Team Groups

5. Guide

6. Refereeing

7. Match

8. Victory

9. Game dynamics

10. Additional rules

Tips & Tricks

Training and Warm-up Exercises

Glossary

First training of the week

Initial circle of discussion and sharing (5')

Free movement of the players in the pitch for the perception of the playing space, of the goals and of the banks (5')

Activation in sound line (5')

1-2-3-FREEZE! game with and without the ball (15')

Ball control in place and in motion with forceful touches (10')

Cross pass and shoot (15')

2 vs 1 the Blind on defense (10')

3 vs 1 the Sighted on defense (10')

Simultaneous half-court exercises (10’)

A) 2 vs 2 half-court match

B) 2 vs 2 half-court ball handling

Free game of VisiBall across the pitch (20')

Final circle of discussion and sharing (5')

Second training of the week

Initial circle of discussion and sharing (5')

Free movement of the players in the pitch for the perception of the playing space, of the goals and of the banks (5')

Activation in sound line (5')

Speed preceded by tactile supports inside and outside the circles, circumventing and snapping back (10')

Free pass in pairs across the pitch (10')

Free pass with support across the pitch - Pause at the whistle with communication of the occupied zone (10')

Possession 8 vs 4 - Goalkeepers and Wild-card Guides (5')

Possession 6 vs 4 - Wild-card goalkeepers (10')

Match between 2 teams: from 1 vs Goalkeeper to 4 vs 3 (15’)

Free game of VisiBall across the pitch (35’)

Final circle of discussion and sharing (5’)

Warm-up

Free movement of the players in the field for the perception of the playing space, goals and banks (5')

Activation in sound line with the ball (10')

Free pass in pairs across the pitch (5')

Speed preceded by tactile supports inside and outside the circles, outflanking and sprinting back (7')

1 vs Goalkeeper (8')

2 vs 2 in rotation (10')

Technical aspects

Safety

Sidewalls and safety space at the back of the pitch

The presence of sighted players on the pitch

Concentration and technical-tactical skills required of blind players

The authority of the match director

Evaluation

References

table of
contents

table of
contents

Visionary Football:
A mixed-futsal 5 for sighted and unsighted players