Blind football has approved research to create a classification system ©Getty Images

The International Blind Sports Federation (IBSA) has announced that the University of Chichester in Britain will lead research into blind football's classification system.

A team of experts have been tasked with a project which will enable blind football to meet the International Paralympic Committee's (IPC) classification code and international standards.

Research will take place over two years with stage one involving consultation and surveys with athletes, coaches and administrators from five-a-side football, the Paralympic discipline.

The second stage will involve developing performance tests that reflect elements of football likely to be impacted by a visual impairment.

A third and final phase will then see researchers simulate different type of impairments in sighted footballers to determine the minimum level of impairment for blind football.

Another two years of work is then predicted where players with a visual impairment will be tested to develop classes.

Applications were received from 12 universities to carry out the research, with Dr. Oliver Runswick set to lead the project in Chichester.

The IPC's visual impairment research centre, the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, will also be involved.

Dr. Oliver Runswick will be in charge of the research ©IBSA
Dr. Oliver Runswick will be in charge of the research ©IBSA

"I would like to thank Dr. Runswick and the other experts for submitting a strong research proposal for this important area," said IBSA's blind football chair Ulrich Pfisterer. 

"It is truly a collaborative effort being carried out by some of the world's leading institutions.

"We are very interested to see their research unfold over the coming years to create a robust set of proposals for how classification in blind football can be improved."

To meet the IPC regulations, which came into force in January of last year, IBSA need to develop sport-specific classification systems through scientific research. 

Athlete input must be sought and the work must adhere to international standards.

"Here at the University of Chichester we are delighted to have been selected from a number of strong applications to take the lead on this project," said Runswick.

"It's fantastic to be involved with a project that can have a real and positive impact on the sport. 

"We look forward to working closely with IBSA and colleagues from IPC's visual impairment research centre to achieve this."