Yes, that’s right! Ranked No. 24 in the world and No. 2 in Asean, Malaysia Deaf Tigers is the country’s very own deaf football team, who’ve been playing the beautiful game since 1996.
They first began playing internationally at the 6th Asia Pacific Deaf Games held in Kuala Lumpur that same year. After its international debut, the squad also qualified for the Deaf Olympics in Rome, Italy in 2001.
As an on-looker, it is hard, in many ways, to differentiate a match between hearing players and deaf players as almost everything about it is identical.
In both versions, football players tear up and down the pitch to score goals for their team. The rollercoaster ride of emotions – excitement, disappointment, and pride – in a “hearing” match is equally as palpable in a match with deaf football players.
Here, sound is no barrier. Banter and comradeship among players remain the same. “Why aren’t you playing?” one player signs to another.
“I injured myself,” says the other, as he watches the training session while attempting to stretch his legs.
Not to mention, deaf football takes on a similar format to mainstream football, possessing both 11-a-side and futsal versions.
The 11-a-side deaf football match is played in the Deaflympics, which take place every four years. Deaf players are also able to play mainstream and pan-disability football, apart from deaf football.
So it makes one wonder, the players’ disabilities aside, what makes deaf football different from mainstream football?
Malaysia Deaf Tigers’s manager Saiful Helmie Dzamani said: “There’s not much difference between ‘mainstream’ football and deaf football. What sets them apart is that the players cannot hear and they use flags to signal to players.
“Players use their sense of sight and sign language which enable them to start a game or end it,” said Saiful, who is also deaf.
Being “deaf” normally refers to a severe form of hearing loss where there is little or no functional hearing, while being “hard of hearing” refers to a hearing loss where there may be enough residual hearing that auditory devices like hearing aids may help process speech.
This year, the squad will be making its debut appearance in the World Deaf Football Championships.
Speaking of the upcoming games, Saiful said he hoped the games would raise public awareness about the deaf community.
The Malaysian team – whose 18 players come from all over the country – has been meeting for intensive training at the Majlis Sukan Negara every day for the last three months.
Their hope? To surprise their peers and keen spectators in the coming weeks, and make their country proud on their home turf.
Kuala Lumpur is set to host teams from 20 countries for the 4th World Deaf Football Championships. This comes after South Korea’s withdrawal from hosting the competitions and a subsequent bidding process where Malaysia emerged victorious.
Saiful, however, noted the challenges faced by the team in its preparations ahead of the games.“One of the challenges is sourcing finance or allocations for the team, especially to support the team and ensure that they are well-taken care of.
“So, that is one challenge and I actually hope that more companies become more aware of the World Deaf Football Championships,” he commented.
The games will take place from Sept 23 to Oct 8 in several venues across the Klang Valley. It will see 20 countries battle it out through 19 male teams and five female teams. Admission is free.
“This time around, I am hopeful that many Malaysians will come to the stadiums to support our team, in the same way that one would support a mainstream football team today, and give their support and encouragement for the players to fight for the championships,” said Saiful.
In conjunction with International Day of Sign Language today, and World Deaf Day tomorrow, FMT Lifestyle wishes the Malaysia Deaf Tigers all the best of luck in the upcoming games!
To find out more about the games, follow MSDeaf on Facebook and Instagram.