For Immediate Release
European Football Week Promotes Football For Everyone!
Tenth Special Olympics European Football Week Calls for More Opportunities for Female Footballers with Intellectual Disabilities
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Through a long-term partnership with the UEFA We Care Programme, Special Olympics Europe/Eurasia continues to achieve significant progress towards the expansion of football opportunities for people with intellectual disabilities.
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Football is the world’s most popular sport yet it is estimated that only one in 500 children with intellectual disability will be given the chance to play football due to being seen by their peers as ‘different’ or ‘without ability’.
The tenth annual European Football Week taking place from April 30th to May 7th 2010 is focused on changing this outlook by creating more opportunities for people with intellectual disabilities in football. An estimated 50,000 players with intellectual disabilities are expected to participate in more than 400 football events in 45 countries throughout Europe and Central Asia.
This year the focus will be on developing female football within the Special Olympics Europe/Eurasia movement as a tool for breaking down barriers between people with and without intellectual disabilities. More than 5,000 Special Olympics female footballers from 20 countries are expected to compete in Unified Football events with footballers without intellectual disabilities during this special week.
“European Football Week is an opportunity for the football community to come together and do something to create more opportunities for people with intellectual disabilities in football” says Mary Davis, Managing Director of Special Olympics Europe/Eurasia(SOEE). “We enjoy great support from UEFA as well as national football federations and football clubs to ensure the success of the week. 2010 brings a special focus on female football as we will continue to use the week to instil the values of acceptance, inclusion and respect to communities all over Europe.”
UK premier league club Tottenham Hotspur and Italy’s Serie A Inter Milan FC are just two of the European clubs who will be participating and hosting training clinics for footballers with intellectual disabilities during the 2010 European Football Week activities
Through a long-term partnership with the UEFA We Care Programme, Special Olympics Europe/Eurasia continues to achieve significant progress towards the expansion of football opportunities for people with intellectual disabilities.
Football is now the most popular of the 31 official sports offered by SOEE with a total of 111,236 registered football players in 58 countries. The number of registered female footballers in Europe and Central Asia has grown from 5,058 in 2003 to 20,471 today.
ENDS
Contact:
Maureen Rabbitt
Tel: +353 1 6755715
mrabbitt@specialolympics.org