When deaf and handicapped children spoke football language
Nagpur: During the novel DeafKidz Goal the very essence of football was amply and ably demonstrated! The tournament that was recently organized by Slum Soccer at their Nagpur Bokhara Academy.
In an effort to create an inclusive society, 50 deaf students from Deaf College, Shankar Nagar, and 30 (hearing) youth from the interventional community centres of Slum Soccer were brought together and divided into eight teams, each representing deaf and hearing boys and girls.
It was a sight to behold the 8 teams ‘ capable players and deaf players engaging with each other in a language that developed from the desire to excel as a team. Barcelona, Real Madrid, Liverpool, Juventus, Dortmund, Inter Milan, Manchester City and Bayern Munich were the names decided by the teams for themselves.
The makeup of the teams was added to the novelty since each team consisted of 10 players (6 deaf and 4 hearing). The tournament, held in a league format, was won by a solo goal scored by Mandhan Khobe by Team Juventus 1-0.
The guests of honour were Uday Bhoyar, Deaf Association (Deaf Club India) and Meena Sangole, Deaf School principal, Shankar Nagar, who gave the trophies to the winners and runners-up teams. The next Saoner Deaf School children’s deaf tournament will start at Slum Soccer Bokhara, Nagpur on February 1st.
