European Blind Football League runners up: RNC Hereford

The European Blind Football League came to a close at the weekend, with Cécifoot Charleroi emerging as the ultimate champions.


Runners-up, RNC Hereford (in the picture above), delivered an incredible performance throughout the competition, showcasing their skill and determination, teamwork and passion.

In this fifth and final tournament, hosted in Belgium, RNC produced some spectacular results beating ASDD Roma 5-0 and Borussia Dortmund 10-0. It just wasn’t enough to catch Charleroi who were one point ahead at the top of the table. The final rankings were:

1 Cecifoot Charleroi 24 pts
2 RNC Hereford 23 pts
3 Borussia Dortmund 17 pts
4 Romania 13 pts
5 ASDD Roma 7 pts
6 Sanremo 0 pts

All teams demonstrated great sportsmanship and teamwork during the competition and while finishing runners-up came with a bit of disappointment, the entire RNC squad put in an incredible effort throughout the competition and came away with many accolades. Many of the top goalscorers in the League were RNC players:

Top scorer, Eesa Amjid (10 goals) 




 Joint second, Azeem Amir (8 goals) 




Joint second, Efe Shimwell (8 goals)


 

Rainbow Mbuangi ranked sixth with 6 goals scored and also picked up an award for 'Best Action of the Season' for scoring a goal within 12 seconds against the eventual European champions.




 Eesa and Rainbow wear their medals and are holding their trophies



Adam Bendall, also came away with a trophy for 'Best Guide'. 

The tournament has provided a platform to share good practice and fair play as well as opportunities for player development. This excellent display of talent will undoubtedly inspire and encourage more individuals who are visually impaired to get involved in this fast paced and skilful game.

Congratulations to RNC and congratulations to Cécifoot Charleroi, the inaugural Champions of European Blind Football!

Next up for RNC is the FA Disability Cup Final at St George's Park on 24 June 2023.