Meet the man who introduced blind football to Uganda
“I never knew I could play until I played football for the first time after being blind all my life”
The late John Kato
John Kato was a striker, playmaker, centre-back, winger, box-to-box and all-rounder, who was known as “the blind footballer” in his homeland of Uganda.
The striker was also an accomplished musician, but it was his football skills that were always at the forefront of the many accolades he received during his career.
Kato made his professional debut for Uganda’s top flight league, the Largest League, in 1969 at the age of just 18. Two years later, he made his AFF Cup debut, which resulted in a great scoring double, against Zambia in 1972.
He played for his country in the Gold Cup in 1974, earning another great goal against Egypt in his final appearance.
He later played for the Uganda national team in the 1970s, and represented the national side between 1974 and 1978 during his career.
When the late John Kato died in 2005 on his 63rd birthday, he was remembered by the people of Uganda as “an incredible man, who gave his life to see football played for all of us.”
Now, here is the story of how John Kato went from an ordinary street boy in Uganda known as a footballer into a legend on the world stage, and how he inspired his countrymen to live their lives to the full by living an ordinary life.
A footballer without legs
John Kato was born into a family of six in Uganda, where he and his family moved to in 1945.
His father, who was in the local trading business, was a farmer by trade.
A footballer without legs
“My father, Joseph John Kato also known