(Located in the southeast area of the venue)
Originating in Spain, blind football adopts game rules similar to that of five-a-side football. Each half of the game lasts 20 minutes, with a 10-minute intermission. If the two teams are tied in the knockout round, 10 minutes of extra time will be allowed. A penalty kick will be held if a tie persists, but goalkeepers are not permitted to participate.
An ultra-low bouncing No.4 ball, which is heavier and less elastic than an ordinary football, is used in matches to make it easy for players to take a pass and control the ball. The ball is equipped with a sound system to ensure that athletes can hear the sound and perceive its running track.
Five-a-side football at the Paralympic Games is designed for athletes with visual impairments. The IBSA Football Committee is responsible for the development and improvement of this sport.
The length of a blind football field measures 38 to 42 meters, while the width measures 18 to 22 meters. For international competitions, it is a rectangular area of 40 x 20 meters covered with natural or artificial grass.
The diameter of the middle circle is 6 meters. The goal is 2 meters high and 3 meters wide. The goalkeeper should stay in a rectangular area of 5.16 x 2 meters. The distances between two penalty kick points and goals are 6 and 8 meters respectively.To protect the players, the sidelines are composed of baffles with a height of 1 to 1.2 meters.
Thanks to the special sound of the football rolling and directions from coaches and goalkeepers, players can start and stop quickly, dribble past defenders in high speed, change directions to get around the defense, and shoot at the goal.
On September 17, 2008, the China blind men’s football team met the Brazilian team in the final at the 2008 Summer Paralympics. Before that, it had stayed unbeaten. After the match began, it took the lead with a goal scored by No.11 forward Wang Yafeng. Regrettably, the Chinese team became the runner-up, after No.10 player Alves scored a goal and No.8 player Silva succeeded in a penalty kick for the Brazilian team respectively. However, this is still the best result of the China blind men’s football team in history after it began to participate in international competitions.
All members of the Chinese team, except for the goalkeeper Xia Zheng, are blind. They completed the game in darkness with their "sense of the ball", and their fighting spirit moved the spectators. After the match, the spectators stood up, applauded, and shouted to those heroes, "You’re fantastic players!" After returning to the locker room, the members of the Chinese team embraced each other and wept. They sang the song A Hero Never Dies together, moving the everyone to tears.
14 years later, the former blind football field became the location where the National Speed Skating Oval, the only newly built competition venue in Beijing Zone for the 2022 Winter Olympics, was built to refresh the glory of Olympic Games.
To continue and inherit the Olympic spirit and realize the sustainable use of the venue, a blind football field has been built on the south side of the National Speed Skating Oval to better promote the sports for the disabled and pass on the Olympic spirit.
