The First Special Olympics Great Britain Annual Unified Football® Tournament took place on Saturday August 28 in Milton Keynes outside London. The Seven-a-side Tournament, supported by MK Dons Sport and Education Trust, involved 5 teams including 55 athletes and partners from around the country. Following 15 minute divisioning games, teams were grouped according to their level of ability to ensure a fair competition.
There are currently over 400+ Unified players in 10 Special Olympics Great Britain clubs and many other groups around the country with plans to bring in more than 600 participants by the end of the year. The five teams competed all year to win a place.
Unified Football® is a groundbreaking football programme designed to breakdown the social barriers between people with learning disabilities (called Athletes) and those without (called Unified Partners), by bringing them together on the same team to understand that people with differences are really just the same. Special Olympics Great Britain is the country’s largest provider of sports training and competition for people with learning disabilities (IQ below 75).
Chris Heaton-Harris MP was guest referee for the event. “I love and am passionate about Unified Football -- it’s not just about inclusion and sport – but being part of a team. It was great to see some silky skills on the pitch!” he said. Heaton-Harris has been an active and qualified football referee for over 30 years and a long time supporter of Special Olympics at European level. The former Member of the European Parliament was the Chairman of the European Union Sports Platform. He is also the Vice Chair of the national All-Party Parliamentary Football Group which is managed by Lawrie McMenemy MBE, Chairman of Special Olympics Great Britain.
Also in attendance was Special Olympics Europe/Eurasia (SOEE) Unified Sports Advisor Andre Peeters from Belgium, “The team balance between the partners and athletes is more important than the results, as far as I am concerned. The team must be fully involved – I like to make sure that the partner doesn’t coach the athlete, but that they are passing the ball and communicating. I find that after the match, the partners and athletes don’t usually separate but continue interacting with each other not just as teammates but as you say here, ‘mates’”.
The event was organised by the MK Dons Sport and Education Trust. Afterwards, MK Dons Football Club (FC) invited the team to attend the afternoon match between MK Dons FC v. Swindon Town FC and hold a Unified Football demonstration on the pitch during half-time in front of thousands of spectators.
Since its launch at the House of Commons in 2008, the Vodafone Foundation and Fitflop sponsored Special Olympics Great Britain has expanded to include international competitions and travel. Six team members were sent to the World Cup as England team flag bearers (England Vs. Algeria) and a team from Special Olympics Halton attended the Special Olympics European Youth Unified Football Tournament in Istanbul, Turkey.
For more information, please contact:
Suzanne Coogan
Head of Media and Public Awareness
T: (353) 1 675 57 15 (direct line)
scoogan@specialolympics.org
Skype: suzannecoogan
Sabine Menke
Special Olympics Europe/Eurasia
Senior Manager, Youth Education and Unified Sports®
T: (49) 221 715 81 79
Mobile : (49) 2 2171 58179
smenke@specialolympics.org