Paris 2024: Raimundo ‘Nonato’ Mendes turns passion into Paralympic titles

It’s fair to say Raimundo Mendes is a man for the big occasion. Even among Brazil’s all-conquering blind football team, the player more commonly known as ‘Nonato’ stands out as a scorer of goals as spectacular as they are important. 

Take, for example, the final of the International Blind Sports Federation (IBSA) World Championships in 2018, when Nonato weaved his way through the defence of arch-rivals Argentina to seal victory. 

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A year later, and the final of the IBSA Copa America. Same opposition, same stage of the tournament, same result. Nonato scored both goals in a 2-0 win – one, a right-footed thunderbolt; the other, a stunning solo effort – to take his personal tally to a tournament-high nine. 

Then there was the Tokyo 2020 Paralympics, delayed by a year because of the Covid-19 pandemic. Nonato made up for lost time with another slalom through the defence to score the only goal of the final. It was eerily similar to Diego Maradona’s second goal against Belgium in the 1986 FIFA World Cup Final - with an off-balance left-footed finish to match. Not that the late legend’s countrymen will need reminding: again, they were on the receiving end. 

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At least Argentina can look forward to Nonato retiring after Paris 2024, when he will have just turned 37 … right? Wrong. 

“I don’t intend to retire after Paris,” Nonato, who has three Paralympic golds dating back to London 2012, insists.  

“I still have the same desire to win because, for me, it is an honour to serve my country by playing football, which is something I really enjoy, a childhood passion. This motivates me every day to strive for my best.

Discovering the ‘ball with bells’ 

Nonata was born with retinitis pigmentosa, a group of eye disorders that progressively cause loss of vision. “I discovered blind football at the invitation of a friend,” he recalls. “We were talking about other topics and he asked me if I was interested in learning about adapted football, the ball with bells.  

“I always liked football, I watched the game on TV, I organised amateur tournaments in my city, but I didn’t have the opportunity to be on the field playing. Blind football gave me this; being able to effectively participate in the game.” 

London 2012 was Nonato's first official tournament for Brazil – “a remarkable experience, a dream come true” – who won gold, as they have at each edition of the Games since blind football was included on the Paralympic programme for the first time in 2004. 

“I remember the moment when the national anthem was played before the games, and that reminded me of when I watched the national team’s games on TV and imagined: ‘Today I’m the one here representing Brazil’. 

“Thanks to winning the [gold] medal in London I was able to have my work recognised. The achievement was widely publicised in the media and this publicity helped me get more support and structure for training, and to continue my career.” 

By the time of the Rio 2016 Paralympics, Nonato was a more established member of the team, rotating with fellow attacking stars Jefinho and Ricardinho, and able to fully appreciate the enormity of a Games on home soil – “feeling the vibration of the Brazilian people up close”, as Nonato puts it. 

“I remember the moment I was introduced to blind football – I already imagined being able to participate in this competition. Being able to be there was incredible.

"At the end of the last game, the fans started counting down to the last five seconds and I couldn’t contain my excitement. I started cheering before the referee whistled for the end of the game!” 

Pandemic, publicity and Paris 

Nonato’s game continued to go from strength to strength, with the aforementioned goalscoring exploits propelling Brazil to further world and continental titles. Then Covid hit, disrupting preparations, and often forcing players to train on their own at home. When the Brazil team were finally able to train together again, Nonato suffered a muscle injury. 

“This was certainly a huge challenge for me to overcome,” he says. “We waited with great anxiety to be able to compete at the Tokyo 2020 edition of the Paralympic Games after they were postponed. But it also made the achievement more enjoyable.” 

Brazil won gold again – and for the first time, Nonato was the main man, scoring five goals en route to the final, before that goal. 

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“It was very gratifying to score the title goal. It makes be very honoured to know that the Brazilian people were watching – for the first time the Paralympic final was broadcast on free-to-air TV, so I was very happy.” 

Something else that gives Nonato joy is his family.

“I play a lot with my son. I have fun going out with him and my wife. I also love playing the guitar, especially songs praising God. These things serve as fuel to continue my mission as an athlete," he said.

And missions don’t get much tougher than winning gold – what would be the team’s sixth in a row – at Paris 2024. “Other teams have been improving a lot,” Nonato says.  

Indeed, Brazil lost on penalties in the semi-finals of the IBSA World Games in August to China, who in turn lost on penalties in the final to Argentina, who in turn lost to Brazil at the Para Pan American Games in November 2023.  

Then there are the African champions Morocco, who pushed Argentina and Brazil close at Tokyo 2020 before beating China in the bronze medal match. 

“So, we will encounter many difficulties,” Nonato said. “But I really believe in our group and we will work to do well and fight for another gold medal.”