Players train at the Fuzhou School for the Blind. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

China's 1-0 victory over Japan on April 25 to win the 2026 IBSA Men's Blind Football Asian Championship marks the country's eighth regional title and secures the team's qualification for the 2028 Paralympic Games in Los Angeles.

The national team draws many of its players from the Fuzhou School for the Blind. Of the 19 members on the championship squad, six players and coaches hail from the Fujian-based system. Forward Zhang Jiasong contributed three goals during the tournament, while Xu Huachu was named the tournament's best goalkeeper.

Blind soccer is a five-a-side sport played by athletes wearing eyeshades who navigate via bells placed inside the ball. China introduced blind soccer in 2003, with the Fuzhou School for the Blind launching its program in October 2005 to support national team recruitment ahead of the 2008 Beijing Paralympic Games.

Players pose for a group photo at the 2025 National Paralympic Games. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

Without established training models, the program's early athletes relied on tactile learning, physically feeling their coaches' movements to master ball-handling and passing. To overcome the disorientation of sprinting in total darkness, players utilized synchronized clapping and shouting for navigation, often training until they lost their voices. Since 2006, the school has consistently provided a core rotation for the national team, including Yu Yutan, who has represented China in four consecutive Paralympic Games from Beijing to Paris.

The school functions as the primary feeder for the Fujian provincial team, which has won three national titles since 2011. At the 2025 National Games for Persons with Disabilities, the entire silver-medal-winning men's squad were Fuzhou School for the Blind alumni, while over half of the bronze-medal-winning women's team were current students.