Unified Football
This project's parent organization is Special Olympics
It operates in United Kingdom
It uses Football (Soccer)
Entered the Sport For Social Inclusion Award
More about Unified Football
Unified Football provides opportunities for people with and without learning disabilities to play on integrated football teams in a fair and formal format. Social exclusion causes a major barrier for people with learning disabilities preventing them from reaching their full potential and further limits the public’s understanding of what it means to have a learning disability.
The Special Olympics initiative empowers athletes to challenge common misconceptions and gives them a medium through which they can demonstrate their skills and achievements to their team players and to the wider public. The experience allows them to develop sport skills, self-confidence and to build meaningful relationships along the way. The integration of players promotes the social inclusion of people with learning disabilities on a wider level, celebrating their similarities and actual abilities. Unified Football also affects the players without a learning disability both on the football pitch and within their communities, empowering them to make a positive change.
Unified Football contributes significantly to breaking down barriers that prevent young people with and without learning disabilities from being part of a team. It carries profound potential to change attitudes off the pitch using football to demonstrate how to bridge the gap between different communities.