The International Blind Sports Federation (IBSA) Blind Football has announced that the 2021 Women’s Camp and Games are heading to Hereford, Great Britain, from 19-23 July.
 
Hosted by the English Football Association (FA), the event is the jewel in the crown of the UEFA-funded European Development Project for blind football for 2020-2021.
 
The announcement follows the news that Great Britain will stage the 2023 IBSA World Games in Birmingham, also featuring blind football.
 
The Women’s Camp and Games will take place at the dedicated training and match facilities at the Royal National College for the Blind (RNC) – the home of the English blind football team. The college was also the location for the 2015 IBSA Blind Football European Championships.
 
“The English FA are delighted to be given the opportunity to host the IBSA Blind Football Women’s Camp and games in July 2021,” Jeff Davis, Para Football Performance Manager at the FA, said. “This event will be the catalyst for change in England and the start of a development programme which will embed blind women’s football in our activity programme moving forward. In England we have a long history in the game and our drive towards the inclusion of greater opportunity for blind female players will be fully realised.”
 
Ulrich Pfisterer, Chair of the IBSA Blind Football Committee, said: “With the first women’s World Championships postponed to 2021, we are delighted to add this event to our growing programme for women next year. The Royal National College is a top quality location, reflecting our commitment to offer the best possible opportunities for players to train, play and learn alongside their peers.
 
“Our thanks go to the English FA, the RNC and British Blind Sport for their bid to host the Women’s Camp and Games, and to the other bidders, to help grow the game we all love.”
 
The first camp and games were held in Vienna, Austria, in 2017. Subsequent editions have been held in Enugu, Nigeria, and Tokyo and Saitama, Japan.
 
Teams and players from Europe will be funded by IBSA through support from UEFA as part of their long-standing support for blind football in the region.
 
Around 100 people are expected to attend. Participants will take part in the training camp before playing matches to round-off the experience.
 
The first IBSA Blind Football Women’s World Championships, originally set to take place in Enugu in November this year, have been rescheduled to 2021 as a result of COVID-19.