French football players to pay homage to Braille inventor

PARIS — French football players will have their names written in Braille on the back of their team jerseys when they play against Nigeria next month to mark the 200th anniversary of the birth of Louis Braille, the French inventor of a system used by blind people worldwide for reading and writing. Coach Raymond Domenech said Monday that the players will wear the jerseys as a tribute to Braille when they face the Super Eagles on June 2 in Saint-Etienne. Braille was born in January 1809 and blinded at the age of three. The system he invented has been adapted to almost every known language. The French team's initiative is in partnership with the French federation for the blind and some of the jerseys will then be sold at an auction. – AP