“I didn’t even know any other visually impaired people, I was just on my own”: generative outcomes of football for visually impaired women

Abstract

Introduction Men’s blind football has featured at the Paralympic Games since 2004, yet international developments for women are in their infancy. The last few years have seen nations establish representative sides, the inaugural Women’s Blind Football World Championships in 2023, and the International Blind Sports Federation (IBSA) lobby for Paralympic inclusion for the women’s game. Whilst our research, adopting an intra-categorical approach to intersectionality, has examined a range of inequities in the game (Macbeth & Sprake, forthcoming), this presentation concentrates on the “generative outcomes” (Frederick, 2023) experienced by players.

Method Data was generated through a focus group and in-depth semi-structured interviews with a purposive sample of seven women, with differing sight conditions, all of whom have been involved in England development squads in recent years.

Results Collaborative abductive data analysis led to the development of the following themes: 1) pride and honour of being history-makers; 2) football as a vehicle for wider VI socialisation; 3) learning from the boys in mixed-sex football; 4) football helping prepare for deteriorating sight.

Conclusion Our findings show significant generative potential for VI women participating in football, yet some of the positive outcomes emerge at the “intersections of inequity” (Frederick, 2023, p. 1351) within the game. So, whilst generative outcomes can be empowering for VI women and should be promoted to attract more women and girls to VI football, it is important that they do not gloss over the inequities experienced by some players during this crucial stage in the development of the women’s game.