Visually Impaired Fan Also Experiences Sports

Smartphone manufacturer, OPPO, hosted a global campaign in support of the UEFA Champions League (UCL) to vote for the competition’s top three inspiring games of all time.

OPPO also followed by actually finding those who witnessed the game during the time, then interviewing them and bringing these stories of inspiration to everyone. As part of the campaign ‘Inspirational Game’, OPPO believes that these stories strike up conversations between even strangers and unify football fans. Furthermore, it rekindles the passion for the game to inspire more people around the world.

The 67-year history of the UEFA Champions League is an epic full of passionate and inspiring memories. Players not only gave their all on the field but also went a hundred percent during practice. In addition, the amount of devotion they put into teamwork and sportsmanship is also undeniable.

The stories that OPPO gathered from different fans of the UCL all bring different experiences during different times in also specific circumstances for the fans. Football invokes emotions and inspires underdogs to outperform their opponents. The story that stood out from the interviews OPPO did, that is the story of Mike Ferney, a visually impaired fan who enjoys matches in a different way.

Mike Ferney was diagnosed with visual impairment from birth, but this has not affected his zeal for football and Liverpool which started from a young age and has continued to this day. Though life with impaired vision is difficult at times, Liverpool’s victory at Istanbul moved him deeply at the age of 13. There he learned the life lesson ‘never give up’, and Mike describes it as his biggest takeaway from Istanbul 2005.

“It’s being three nil down against one of the best teams in Europe,” Mike still remembers that that feeling of intensity while recounting the story, It could have been easy to roll over and give up, but they carried on. And I think the moment is short. Then things that happen help me believe that, even though it is football, it can be tied to a life lesson.”

Mike’s cousin Stephen assists him by giving him a visual description of everything that’s happening on the field, and he enjoys standing in the stadium to experience the matches. Because to Mike, there are more senses to feel at a matchup than simply watching.

There are many people like Mike who are inspired by the passion for football, advancements in technology allow us to better enjoy and record the game with pocket-sized devices, freezing seconds of inspiration into everlasting memories. OPPO has been exploring more ways for people to enjoy sports under the brand proposition ‘Inspiration Ahead’.

Especially assistive technology for people like Mike who have visual impairments or other disabilities to experience more inspiration in their lives. For example, Color Vision Enhancement Technology, which made its debut on the OPPO Find X3 series, was designed to improve color identification abilities for those who suffer from color vision deficiency.

OPPO Research Institute Innovation Accelerator, which issued a focus on accessible technology was also a success this year. The accelerator was aimed to turn world changing ideas into reality. Among the winning proposals, we were glad to see innovative ideas like ‘machine vision solutions for the visually impaired’, and ‘exclusive mobile phones for the hearing impaired. These proposals addressed pressing social issues that deserve our concern.

Guided by the brand proposition ‘Inspiration Ahead’, OPPO will continue to explore meaningful innovations regardless of the difficulties that lie ahead. The search for witnesses for ‘Inspirational Games’ is not an ending, on the contrary, it marks a new beginning. OPPO will help more people enjoy the inspiration in life, and everyone can become a witness to their own moments of inspiration.