Malaysian blind futsal squad looking to reach final in only second international tournament

FAIQ ADNAN, 22, a Malay Literature student at Universiti Malaya, was born blind. He also happens to be a skillful futsal player.

Playing the game since he was nine, the Kedah native developed his interest in the game by listening to English football commentary on television and imagining how they play.

He may have never seen them in action, but his favourite team is Arsenal.

Faiq is a member of a team formed by the Malaysian Blind Sports Association (MBSA) that will be participating in a five-aside blind futsal tournament in Bangkok next week.

The tournament at Bangkok's Mall Shopping Centre, organised from Sept 27 to Oct 1 by Thailand's Paralympic Council, will feature eight teams in two groups, with Malaysia being the only foreign team participating.

To prepare for the tournament, MBSA is appealing to sponsors for RM12,000 in funds to help purchase air tickets, an official team kit and equipment.

This will be the team's second international tournament, after their debut at Tokyo's third IBSA ASIAN Championship in 2009, in which they finished fifth.

They also participated in the local IMC tournament in February, from which they emerged champions, and the local PESROB Carnival in June.

"Blind futsal uses balls containing bearings, which rattle to indicate its location. It also doesn't bounce as much as a normal ball," said MBSA president and International Blind Sports Association for the ASIAN region chairman Dr. S. Radha Krishnan.

He said side kickboards are set up around the perimeter to indicate the ball's movement.

There are also sighted guides who shout out directions for their respective teams.

"There are no throw-ins or offsides. One half is 25 minutes long, with half-time being 10 minutes," he said.

Coach Sunny Shalesh, who specialises in disability football, trains his team three times a week at the Samba de Futsal courts here.

"They all wear masks to ensure fairness, as not all are totally blind," he told The Malay Mail. "Even so, the sighted goalkeepers often have difficulty in telling which way the players will aim."

He added that while the talent is there, they don't have the necessary training facilities and therefore, need sponsors for this.

"So far, we've collected RM8,000 from a recent charity game, as well as jersey sponsorships from ING. We need another RM12,000 for artificial turfs and kickboards, which we hope to gather by year end.

"Even with limited facilities at our disposal, we're aiming to at least reach the final in this upcoming tournament."

The players, selected from open trials last month, mostly come from Setapak's SMK Cacat Penglihatan, while five are working adults.

The two goalkeepers are mainstream futsal players.

One of the players is Mohd Zamha Abdul Wahab, 28, a reflexology therapist from Kelantan, who ironically lost his sight during a football-related accident in school 12 years ago.

"Another player's head collided with mine and hit both my eyes, damaging my nerves," he said.

"I started blind football last year with friends, in which we used a plastic-wrapped ball.

It is actually more challenging than normal football, as it is faster and more aggressive.

It focuses more on individual performances."