“The blind football community that has developed in central Europe in recent years is fantastic.”
Imagine if you could have the thrill of the Paralympics mixed with the fun of the best party you have ever been too
and the warmth and friendship of a family meal
Intense competition does not always lend itself to fun and fellowship
but the team behind the annual Bucovice Blind Football Cup in the Czech Republic have hit upon a formula that has attracted the attention of some of the sport’s biggest names from across the globe
works tirelessly to raise the EUR 18,500 needed to fund the tournament each year
This labour of love takes the entire year to complete
Graclikova is a human dynamo with a fervent passion for blind football
but where did her love for the sport come from
“I first heard about blind football in 2007 from a friend of mine who was a student at Masaryk Uni,” she explained
“He said he had always wanted to try the sport but had not had much support from the main organisations in the Czech Republic.”
“Masaryk is a big university with a lot of visually impaired students
with no national team in our country and little interest from the major organisations to establish one
perhaps we could start building something at the club level
As they strove to learn more about the game and develop their sporting talent
the team from Brno established a strong network of contacts throughout Europe
The first stop on their odyssey was the University of Worcester in Great Britain
where Graclikova and the Avoy team met David Mycock
Course Leader for Worcester’s Innovative Sports Coaching and Disability Sport degree
“Jitka first came over with a group of players and staff in 2009 to learn a bit more about blind football and adapted coaching methods
and it was great to be able to share some ideas and show them the basics,” said Mycock
“Blind football is a hard sport to get to grips with
so in those early days we focussed more on having fun and keeping everyone engaged.”
Former British team captain Keryn Seal was just one of several international blind footballers who were studying at the University of Worcester at the time
and he remembers the first Czech visit with great fondness
“They might not have had a clue about how to play
and they were determined to do it together
That was what struck me back then and that is what still stands out for me about Avoy now.”
As Avoy Brno began to solidify in to a real team
they were invited to participate in club tournaments already established in other European countries
to help provide some invaluable match experience
Graclikova and her team decided to reciprocate
the first Bucovice Blind Football Cup (BBFC)
“So many people helped us establish blind football in the Czech Republic,” she said
so we decided to throw a big football party for all our friends across Europe.”
With its unique blend of intense sporting competition and trans-national comradery
the annual BBFC tournament is something of a footballing utopia
The Moravian sun illuminates a fierce sporting contest by day and by night
the stars glow and the beer flows as players enjoy conversation
such is the lure of BBFC that the finest players from across the world seek passage to Bucovice
Blind football superstar Jefferson Gonçalves has travelled all the way from Brazil with his Bahia team
and the University of Worcester blind football team
led by Keryn Seal and coached by Dave Mycock
a two-time Paralympian with over 100 appearances for his country to his name
the European club scene is a luminescent example of the power sport has to forge new communities where previously there were none
“The blind football community that has developed in central Europe in recent years is fantastic
There is a lot of innovation going on there
they are trying things like holding tournaments in shopping centres so that the game is really brought to the public’s attention,” he said
it is the spirit of friendship that really defines this burgeoning European club scene
the guys from Brno came to Worcester to learn about blind football
“I have played in a couple of tournaments for Brno
travel around these European cities together
but they have won plenty of tournaments because they play for each other
who found themselves reduced to only three outfield players because of injuries
Our coach immediately took off one of our players
You certainly would not see that kind of attitude everywhere
and yet it goes to the very heart of what sport
Although NATO and the EU are the leading actors shaping European security
smaller players are also performing important roles
this could lead to political and security problems for the EU
this perception could create political and security problems
The development warrants a closer look at how the Visegrad states have contributed to Europe’s current security system and what role they may play in the future
Established in 1991, the Visegrad Group originally consisted of Poland
Since the peaceful dissolution of Czechoslovakia into the Czech Republic and Slovakia in 1993
the group comprises four Central European states
The organization’s original mission was to facilitate the accession of Central and Eastern European countries into the Western structures after the Cold War
Its history can be divided into three distinct phases: the accession period (1991-2004)
during which the V4 was considered very helpful to the EU; the integration period (2005-2014)
when the group was seen as moderately necessary; and the euroskeptic period (since 2014/2015)
the V4 has been rocking the EU boat by raising questions about the community’s direction – which
has sparked charges that its members are applying the brake to the integration process
The Visegrad Group started as a sort of “political task force” created soon after the Soviet bloc’s collapse to help the Central European countries win admission into NATO and the EU
member governments supported each other in trying to meet the accession standards and promoting their progress in this area to help sell the Western governments on the expansion project
first as a professor at the National Defence University in Warsaw
and then a director at Poland’s National Security Bureau
I traveled to the United States on official business and was encouraged to help build such a regional body in Central Europe
we were urged to continue and expand the Visegrad Group’s activity
positive role in the eradication of the Cold War divide in Europe
In the context of the aspirations of the Central European states to join NATO
the initiative was helpful to those in the West
who supported this process and needed to sway the decision makers
Their task was easier when they could demonstrate that not a loose constellation of former Soviet-bloc states
but an integrated body of them that shared European values was determined to join the Western community of nations
This is why they worried in Western capitals when
there was a snag in the functioning of the V4
the Czech Republic thought it was not worth taking part in regional initiatives: Why label yourself as part of Central and Eastern Europe when you are already embedded in the West
fancied itself as a “link” between the West and Russia
it can be said that the Visegrad Group fulfilled its mission and played a significant
It provided Western leaders with proof that a transformation from communism to liberalism
from a centralized to a free-market economy
After Central and Eastern European states joined NATO (Poland
and seven more countries in the region five years later)
and especially after the 2004 and 2007 inclusion of these states into the EU
the Visegrad Group lost its original purpose
task groups are disbanded after they fulfill their missions
A new purpose was sought for the Visegrad Group
raison d’etre emerged for the V4 members – mutual support in the integration processes within NATO and the EU
as well as jointly bringing Central Europe’s problems to the EU’s attention
the Visegrad’s joint support for the Eastern Partnership and the aspirations of other nations in the region to join NATO were particularly noteworthy
One of the V4’s flagship initiatives in the defense field has been the idea of the Visegrad Battle Group
Seen by many at NATO headquarters as a go-nowhere project
the battle group was supposed to be ready in 2016; now the date has been moved to 2019
A series of strategic workshops were held to draft the assumptions of a new strategy
jointly launched by the Visegrad Group presidents (on Poland’s urging) in 2011
related to the need to amend the EU security strategy in the context of Russia’s growing assertiveness
The idea was to put together secretaries from the EU Council’s Security Committee and presidential advisors on security from all EU member states
forming a deliberating body that could act as a de facto EU security council
The Baltic states joined the process in 2014
The initiative played a positive role. After strong initial resistance, the work on updating the EU’s security strategy started and the EU finally adopted the new document in 2016
Russia’s President Vladimir Putin needs to be given credit for accelerating this process with his 2014 aggression against Ukraine
Summing up the Visegrad Group’s activity in the second period: for lack of an apparent external goal
it focused on internal cooperation among the member states
which closed the post-Cold War era in Euro-Atlantic security relations and again put Russia and the West on a confrontational footing
also caused considerable trouble for the Visegrad Group
Significant differences have surfaced between Poland and other members of the group
These differences made it practically impossible for the four states to develop common positions on security issues in relations with Moscow
However, some new areas of commonality appeared later, especially after the change of government in Poland in 2015. Today, the V4 features mostly euroskeptic ruling elites
Their similar reaction to the EU migration crisis (seen in the West as flouting solidarity) turned out to be an effective glue for the Visegrad Group
perceived migration risks also have reconnected the member states
Summing up the reflections on the functioning of the Visegrad Group: it played an important role during the accession period and a less critical
yet useful role during the integration phase
the V4 is often accused of being a “mini Trojan horse” for the Kremlin
which cannot be good in the context of a new Cold War between Russia and the West
what future V4-EU scenarios can be drawn from the standpoint of European security
there are two apparent scripts: an escalation of the conflict
and a change of tack by the Visegrad Group
Both depend on internal political developments within the V4 countries
If the current euroskeptic and occasionally pro-Russian elites continue in power for many years to come
their increasingly close political cooperation in the Visegrad Group could lead to unfortunate side effects
The group may inadvertently put its own strategic security
the anti-integration paradigm of today’s V4 could accelerate the EU’s process of morphing into a union of “many speeds.” This would push most of the countries of Central Europe to
and at worst prompt them to exit the European community
That would substantially undermine Central Europe’s security
which would find itself in a gray zone between the West’s shrinking influence and Russia’s expanding sway
The Kremlin’s paramount goal has been to restore a buffer zone of vassalized states between Russia and the West
A favorable scenario hinges on the possibility that the governing forces in the Visegrad countries adopt more nuanced stands vis-a-vis the EU
or pro-European political groups return to power
the issue of a new mission for the V4 would return
it could be built around the need to minimize the risks of the Visegrad area’s marginalization within the Western security system
It must be said emphatically at this point that these two scenarios depend not only on the Visegrad countries
important will be whether the EU as a whole is able to put forth a new
postcrisis vision of itself – sufficiently credible and attractive to convince skeptics and seduce the Central European societies to cast their lot again with the rest of Europe
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