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Jun 6, 2021
The coronavirus pandemic has left sporting organizers scrambling over the last year to host competitions so that athletes have opportunities to compete and prepare for the Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics.
While Tokyo 2020 organizers have managed a limited number of para test events ahead of the games, the Japan Blind Football Association became one of the first para sport organizers to hold an international tournament last week in Tokyo.
The capital hosted the IBSA Blind Football World Grand Prix in a bubble environment, enacting strict protocols to ensure the safety for the participating teams amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
The tournament, inaugurated in 2018 to raise blind soccer’s visibility ahead of the Tokyo Paralympics, was canceled last year due to the pandemic. But organizers resumed it this year, limiting athletes and officials between their hotels and the competition venue throughout the event.
Hosts Japan got their International Blind Sports Federation (IBSA)
Blind Football World Grand Prix campaign off to a fine start with a
1-0 victory over France in Shinagawa.