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Coaching

It’s vital that coaches understand the needs of colour blind people so they can get the most from individuals and for their teams as a whole. But you don’t have to take our word for it – just watch these two fantastic videos produced for us by UEFA and the Football Association then visit our pages for Players, factsheets and Solutions and Services For Sport.

In this first video, The Colourful Game, colour blind players, coaches and other stakeholders in football explain the issues and the simple solutions which can really make a difference. This video is focussed on football but many of the issues raised are relevant to most sports. For rugby visit the World Rugby guidelines and you can also listen to former Scotland Internationals Mike Blair and Chris Paterson discussing the challenges they faced from 36-40 mins on the Scottish Rugby podcast.

In the second video here elite football coach, Lars Lagerbäck, (pictured) speaks about his experiences of colour blindness in football.

Go to our Guidance Documents for Football page for more detailed guidance or click here to download a 2 page factsheet designed specifically for coaches.

If you teach or coach younger children you may also be interested in the resources created for our #PrimaryColours project, in conjunction with UEFA Foundation for Children, The FA PE Unit and Premier League’s Primary Stars.

lars

Kit clashes

A poor combination of kit colours is one of the biggest problems for sportsmen and women – and spectators – with CVD. This includes kits that clash with each other, with a referee’s or keepers’ kits and with the pitch.

The kit combinations that cause the greatest problems for colour blind people, though by no means the only combinations, are:

  • Red v black (including striped and patterned kits)
  • Red v green v orange
  • Bright green or orange v yellow
  • White v pastel colours e.g. pale blue
  • Blue v purple
kit

Normal Vision

kit - protanopia

Protanopia

Some colour combinations that work well include:

  • Black v white, yellow or pastel shades
  • Red v white, yellow or pastel shades
  • Blue v white or yellow

BUT all-red kits can cause issues because they can have the effect of completely disappearing against the green of the pitch. Other colours which can clash against a green pitch are all-orange and all-green kits.

As a basic rule, the more colours there are in a kit, the more likely it is that kit clashes will arise.

The problem is not restricted to team shirts – socks and shorts also come into the equation. A strong contrast between shorts or sock colours and shirt colours are often the only way colour blind people can tell teams apart. If there’s insufficient contrast players may have problems in telling their own team from the opposition.

In one particular match when we were in red and they were in dark green, I couldn’t tell the teams apart. I had to really concentrate in that game looking at the socks because they were easier for me to distinguish and there was nothing else I could do.

Matt Holland, former professional footballer (Republic of Ireland & Ipswich Town FC)

You can hear more from Matt in an interview he gave to TalkSport radio and see more of his comments throughout the UEFA/FA guidance document.

Our TACBIS Partner Randers FC, who play in the Danish Superliga, asked their players to train in a simulated colour blind kit clash game as part of raising awareness for Colour Blind Awareness Day 2022. You can see how they got on below

See the Players section for more information on the challenges of colour blindness for players and how they can be supported.

Equipment

In matches and training situations, be aware of the colours of the equipment used. Can they be ‘seen’ by colour blind players and spectators? For example, using an orange hockey ball on green Astro Turf can make the ball difficult to see. Refer to the FA’s Guidance for more information on how to address these issues.

Coaches and trainers in particular should bear in mind that the following equipment choices can be problematic for people with CVD:

  • Coloured balls (red, pink, orange etc.) can ‘disappear’ against a green pitch/court
  • Use of different colour line-markings to map out the perimeter of a pitch or court – white is best, avoid red and orange
  • Certain coloured bibs or arm-bands used in training may not be distinguishable
  • Red/green/orange cones used in training, or to mark out a temporary pitch, may not be easily visible
  • The goalkeeper and match officials’ kit colours might be indistinguishable from one of the team’s kit
  • Stadium/training ground floodlights or indoor lighting can have the effect of making problem colours even more difficult to tell apart
  • Use of coloured pens/magnets on wipe-boards in back-room strategy/tactics sessions.

Youngsters with CVD will not be able to tell these coloured bibs apart

bibs

Normal Vision

bibs - deuteranopia

Deuteranopia

When designing sports facilities see also Sports Surfacing for the Colour Blind which provides information on the best colour combinations of floor surface and line marking colours and which has been nominated for several awards by the Australian sporting industry.

During the 2012 London Olympics, GB Hockey introduced the use of a yellow ball on a blue pitch marked out with white lines and surrounded by a pink surface. This was ideal for colour blind people, see below (although the issue of kit clashes has still to be addressed).

Find out more about the diagnosis of colour blindness
Find out more about the causes of colour blindness
Find out more about the different types of colour blindness