Blind footballer brings game to visually impaired Iraqis

Baghdad: When football fanatic Othman al Kinani became blind in 2008, the loss of his sight hit him hard, not least because he thought he d have to ha...

Baghdad: When football fanatic Othman al-Kinani became blind in 2008, the loss of his sight hit him hard, not least because he thought he'd have to hang up his boots for good.

Now aged 51, Kinani described his struggle to rebuild his life. "I even forgot how to walk," he told AFP.

"I had to rely on my hearing for everything," he explained, after losing his sight to glaucoma, itself according to him the result of using incorrect medicines to treat allergies.

What made the situation worse "was being separated from football," the Arabic language teacher added.

But years later Kinani's persistence has led him to set up the country's first national football team for the visually impaired.