Bosnia and Herzegovina
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The seventh annual Special Olympics European Football Week was held 29 April-6 May 2007, with an estimated 40,000 Special Olympics players across the Europe/Eurasia region expected to participate. [Photo by Shutterstock] |
High energy at Sarajevo tournament
There was high energy in the Ramiz Salcin sports hall in Sarajevo on 28 April as 22 Special Olympics teams competed in a one-day tournament. Male and female teams participated. In addition to local teams, teams came from Tuzla, Svjetlost, Prijedor, Gorazde, Kalesija, Trebinje, Bakovici, Derventa, Zenica, Banja Luka, Pazaric, Mostar and Maglaj. One of the highlights of the tournament was the awards ceremony when Special Olympics player Semir Ramic was recognized as “Best Player” and Almir Husarkic was honoured as “Best Goalkeeper.” City authorities and local businesses sponsored the tournament.
Croatia
Unified on and off the pitch in Zagreb
Special Olympics Croatia celebrated Football Week with a one-day tournament on 4 May in Zagreb. Twelve regular male teams and four Unified Sports® female teams competed in 5-a-side matches. There also was a male 7-a-side Unified Sports demonstration match. Just before kick-off, Vedran Corluka, national and NK Dinamo Zagreb defender, stopped by to meet players. “I am happy to be here and have the chance to get to know the Special Olympics players. I like their smiles and to see them enjoy football,” Corluka said.
The Unified Sports concept is being enthusiastically embraced in Croatia and was evident at the tournament. Simona Markovic, 26, is a student at the Faculty of Physical Education at the University of Zagreb. She was the first Unified Sports female partner to be recruited. “I love all of this – the athletes, volunteers, organizers, the smiles and fun,” she said. In addition to Special Olympics football, Markovic holds aerobic training twice a week at the university for 20 Special Olympics female athletes; six of them play football and competed in the tournament. Prof. Laslo Brucker, a Special Olympics board member who works at a center for people with intellectual disabilities, is the coordinator of the project which has been running for six years.
A new recruit to Unified Sports is Filip Ivanisevic, 19, an economics student from Samobor, who plays defense at a local club. “I live next to a special school and I have been playing with the pupils there since I was a boy. When I was asked by Sveto Milovanovic [Special Olympics Croatia Chairman and former professional player and coach] if I wanted to join a Unified team he was forming, I jumped at the chance. I love football and I wanted to be part of something as beautiful as Special Olympics,” he said.
The media were on hand to cover the story. Anton Samovojska, the country’s top sport journalist who writes for the daily “Sportski Novosti,” has written numerous articles about Special Olympics over the years. “It is important to inform the public that people with intellectual disabilities are the same as everyone else,” he said. “Special Olympics players share the same passion for football as so many other people around the world so it’s important to show that they are part of the football family,” he added.
Cyprus
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Special Olympics players enjoyed a great day of football [Photo courtesy of Special Olympics Cyprus] |
Law enforcement officers part of Unified Sports event in Nicosia
Special Olympics Cyprus organized its eighth Unified Football tournament at the Nuevo Campo 5x5 football pitches on 25 April in Nicosia. The day-long tournament attracted more than 70 players from all over Cyprus, including for the first time two female teams. Special Olympics Unified Sports partners included high school students and players from the Strovolos station of the Cyprus Police Academy. Members of the professional female team AEK Kokkinoxorion were on hand to offer Special Olympics players tips. The tournament was officiated by referees from the Cyprus Referees Association. Sponsors included the Cyprus Police Torch Run, Lanitis Bros Ltd and Nuevo Campo as well as media partners channel LTV, channel ANT1 and the Sportive magazine.
Hungary
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Special Olympics Lithuania and Hungary players in action. [Photo by Gregory eM.Soos] |
Female players take charge in European tournament in Hungary
Eighteen teams from 15 European countries participated in the Special Olympics European 7-a-side Female Football Tournament that was held in Kecskemet, Hungary, from 27 April – 1 May 2007. The event was organized by Special Olympics Hungary.
Prior to kick off, a press conference was held with Doris Fitschen, World Cup winner and FIFA representative; János Hrutka, professional football player and Football Ambassador for Special Olympics Hungary; and Special Olympics representatives who talk to journalists about the importance of women’s football for players with intellectual disabilities.
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Hungarian President László Sólyom meets Special Olympics Hungary players. [Photo by Gregory eM.Soos] |
On 28 April, in the main city square in front of thousands of spectators, the tournament was officially opened by Gábor Zombor, Kecskemét Mayor. The Special Olympics “Flame of Hope” was carried by law enforcement officers to the square after having been carried through several cities across Hungary. For the next two evenings the square served as the focal point for local citizens and Special Olympics footballers players to meet and enjoy entertainment provided by top Hungarian musicians.
Over fifty matches in classification rounds and finals were played. “It’s great to see such interest in women’s football in Special Olympics,” said former German international Fitchen. “I really enjoyed the atmosphere of tournament, seeing the friendships on the fields and the emotions of the players,” she added.
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Doris Fitchen (fourth from right in white T-shirt) with Special Olympics Germany team. [Photographer: Miroslaw Krogulec] |
On the final day of competition Hungarian President László Sólyom came to visit the tournament and meet Special Olympics players who were excited and honored to meet such a distinguished person from the host country.
Michael Smith, Special Olympics Europe/Eurasia, who also attended the tournament, said: “This tournament was inspiring, informative, and enjoyable. Special Olympics Hungary is noted for being able to create high-quality opportunities for Special Olympics athletes. This tournament has done much to drive forward our regional development efforts which has seen Special Olympics women’s football grow from 2,000 to almost 20,000 players.”
Special Olympics Healthy Athletes screenings in eye and dental care were provided for the players in the Olympic Town located near the pitches. Skills contests and fun activities were also organized for the players, creating a festive atmosphere for all who participated.
By Miroslaw Krogulec, Senior Manager, Organizational Development and Sports, Special Olympics Europe/Eurasia
Kazakhstan
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Volunteers and Special Olympics players at the dental screening. [Photo by Krzysztof Kurkowski] |
Going the distance in Almaty
More than 210 Special Olympics players representing 14 regions and a guest female team from Special Olympics Kyrgyz Republic competed in a tournament in the Mountain Sun summer camp near Almaty. The tournament included male, female and Unified Sports teams. The Academy of Social Affairs provided volunteers to run the event.
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First-time competitors from near Taraz.[Photo by Krzysztof Kurkowski] |
One of the female teams came from near Taraz in southern Kazakhstan. This was the first time they competed in a Special Olympics football event, traveling over 600 km by train to get to the tournament. “Our team has been practicing very hard for this tournament and I am very happy they have done so well,” said Coach Aitan Baikulova. “The team is from an internat (boarding school) located 40 km from Taraz and they do not have a chance to compete, so this is a really great experience for them,” she said.
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Football action at the summer camp. [Photo by Krzysztof Kurkowski] |
Special Olympics participants were active off the pitch as well. A Special Smiles® dental screening was held. Twenty volunteers from the Medical Government University and Kazak Medical University ran the screenings. Special Olympics players also participated in a meeting about SO Get Into It® organized by students from the local youth club Aray. There was also a cultural program for participants. Local media covered the tournament.
Kyrgyz Republic
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Young players are happy with their ribbons. [Photos courtesy Special Olympics Kyrgyz Republic] |
Women’s Football Federation supports Special Olympics female players
Special Olympics Kyrgyz Republic had a full schedule for its players this year. Regional competitions were held in the southern city of Osh, with 150 players from Osh, Batken and Djalal-Abad participating. Then, in the capital city of Bishkek, 400 players representing local teams and the regions of Chuy and Naryn competed in a tournament. Seven female teams were also able to take part in the competition due to the support they received from the Women’s Football Federation. In addition, 15 Unified Sports teams competed, a result of the work the national Program has been doing in developing SO Get Into It and Unified Sports. There were also individual skills development sessions for players of lower ability.
The events received corporate support from Artezian, Kav & Kev and Empire of Tastes, which presented participants with a giant cake in the shape of a football pitch. The events had excellent national media coverage in the newspapers “ISM” and the “Evening Bishkek,” on television channels on Pyramid, KTR and NTS, and on Radio31. One television broadcaster, World, will produce a documentary on people with intellectual disabilities.
Empire of Tastes presented a giant cake to Special Olympics players. [Photo courtesy of Special Olympics Kyrgyz Republic]
Luxembourg
Football professionals support Special Olympics players
Special Olympics Luxembourg organized events for some 120 Special Olympics players during Football Week. The Program was supported by the national football federation, Special Olympics Football Ambassador Manuel Cardoni, a former national player, and National Team goalkeeper Stephane Gillet. Professional football showed its solidarity when First League teams and referees wore Special Olympics T-shirts during warm-up at major games. Events included training sessions with the Under 21 National Team and First League club Racing Union Luxembourg. A Unified Sports tournament was also organized for five teams from Luxembourg and one team each from Belgium, Germany and France. The events received newspaper and television coverage. 
Special Olympics Luxembourg Under 21 National players. [Photo courtesy of Special Olympics Luxembourg]
Serbia
Girl Power in Serbia
The first girls SO Get Into It® and Unified Sports® football demonstration match was held in Nis, Serbia, on 28 April. The SO Get Into It and Unified Sports football project is a multi-country program in which players with and without intellectual disabilities compete on the same team. This highly inclusive initiative, which focuses on youth and builds awareness and tolerance on and off the playing field, aims to have 50,000 Unified Sports players by 2010.
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Special Olympics athlete Samanta Aliti, 14 (left), and her Unified Sports partner Jelena Moletic, 13. [Photo by Sabine Brecklinghaus] |
Special Olympics Serbia is taking the lead in involving girls in this project. Twenty coaches who observed the match in Nis also attended a seminar on female Unified Sports football in Belgrade on 29 April. The coaches will start female Unified Sports football teams in their communities and were educated in which steps to take to build up such a team.
The demonstration match between Unified teams from Krusevac and Nis was held as part of the first Special Olympics Serbia national 7-a-side female football tournament. Eighty players in eight teams from all over Serbia played in two divisions. The event was organized by the Nis Special Olympics club and hosted by the local professional female football club Masinac. Players were supplied with food and beverages from the local McDonald's and Coca Cola Serbia. A crew from national Serbian TV RTS covered the event.
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Left-right: Samanta Aliti, Coach Marga Karamadzija, and partner Jelena Moletic. [Photo by Sabine Brecklinghaus] |
Miroslav Dordevic, Nis Mayor, expressed great support for Special Olympics activities. “The city of Nis is supporting both the Special Olympics female football program and female Unified football program. They offer great opportunities for integration of girls and women with special needs in the community. Female football is not so popular yet in Serbia and needs to be promoted and supported. Girls football – why not?” Dordevic said.
Dragan Jovanovic, 50, a physical education teacher at a local special school and coach of the Unified Sports team, said, “This is the first time I have coached Unified Sports and female players. It is a very positive experience. The players are so passionate about the game!”
Jelena Moletic, 13, is a partner in the female Unified Sports football team from Krusevac. She plays on the team with her friend Samanta Aliti, 14, who is a Special Olympics athlete. Moletic attends the Dositej Obradovic school in Kursevac. Aliti is student at the local special school Dragomir Markovic. Their Unified Sports football team was founded in February 2007 by Coach Marga Karamadzija, 51, a physical education teacher at the special school Veselin Nikolic also in Krusevac.
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Players from Nis and Krusevac compete for the ball. [Photo by Sabine Brecklinghaus] |
Partner Moletic played football before in school and on the street but not on a formal team. She said, “I am happy to be on this Unified football team. I have always wanted to play on a real team.” Asked why she joined the team, athlete Aliti said, “I watch professional football on TV and have always hoped to play football on a team one day.” She added, “Playing with the girls from the regular school is great! They are great people and we are all friends.” Coach Karamadzija sees an improvement in skills but also socially in both athletes and partners. “On the technical level, athletes and partners are improving during each training session. They are so eager to learn. The teamwork is great; there is lots of social interaction. The athletes benefit from this experience as well as the partners,” she said.
Moletic talked about the challenges she had on the Unified Sports team. “Many people think about people with intellectual disability in a negative way; they even tease me for being on this team. I don’t care if they tease me! I just tell them that it is great to be with them!” Karamadzija described that not only schoolmates of the partners reacted negatively to the Unified Sports football team. “Some of the parents of the team members, of both athletes and partners, were not very supportive of the Unified activities in the beginning. We involved them in the training; we showed them how well it works. We even travelled to the villages where some of the parents of the athletes live to convince them of the great chances the girls have on being on this team. The good communication helped and now we even have a better involvement and support of parents than I experience on average sport teams.”
Moletic and Aliti hope to have more competitions like the one in Nis. Moletic said, “This competition is the highlight of everything we have done until today on this team. I did not expect this to be so exciting. I scored a goal and that felt fantastic!” Aliti is also happy. “This match was great! I also scored. In the end we did not win, but that did not matter so much. There were many people watching us, what an atmosphere!”
Karamadzija wants to create more opportunities for competitions which only will work if more teams will be involved: “I am trying to get more teams started in Krusevac. More girls should have the opportunity to be on a Unified football team!” Her coaching colleague Dragan Jovanovic supports her: “I am ready to tell anybody that my girls are not only a great team but a model for successful community integration.”
By Sabine Brecklinghaus, Manager, Healthy Athletes and Schools,
Special Olympics Europe/Eurasia
Switzerland
Special Olympics players meet UEFA President Platini
UEFA and Special Olympics Europe/Eurasia celebrated Special Olympics Football Week in fitting style on 23 April with a match at the Colovray stadium opposite UEFA's headquarters in Nyon, Switzerland. Staff from the European football's governing body joined the Special Olympics teams – FC Morgette and FC Eben Hezer – that will be competing at the 2007 Special Olympics World Summer Games in Shanghaď, China. The teams entered the pitch to the UEFA Champions League theme music, and the match was kicked off by UEFA President Michel Platini, who wished the Special Olympics players success in in China. Following the game, the teams attended a reception at UEFA's House of European Football. 
UEFA President Michel Platini with Special Olympics Switzerland players. [Photo: UEFA-pjwoods.ch]
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