With the partnership of the European Union, the 2010-2011 Special Olympics EU Youth Unified Sports Development Project will develop Unified Basketball and Football programmes for young citizens aged 12 to 25. The programme, which was kicked off on occasion of the annual Special Olympics European Football Week, targets at recruiting at least 2,000 new Unified players across the two sports.
In total ten member states of the European Union -Belgium, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Portugal and Romania- will be involved in the Development Project. National Programs launched this project with a series of events like coach seminars, tournaments, come-and-try events and demonstration matches during the 2010 edition of the Special Olympics European Football Week.
Unified Sports enables people with intellectual disabilities (“athletes”) and without intellectual disabilities (“partners”) to train and compete on integrated sports teams. By training and competing together in Basketball and Football, Unified athletes and partners will improve their sports skills, social skills and self-esteem, challenge the competition and help to overcome prejudices about people with intellectual disabilities. The European Commission recognised the role Special Olympics Unified Sports plays for the inclusion of young people with intellectual disability and supported with vital funding under the Preparatory Action in the Field of Sport 2009.
For additional information:
Sabine Menke
Senior Manager, Youth Education and Unified Sports®
T: +49 221 715 81 79
smenke@specialolympics.org