Sports
A total of 32 sports are on offer across the Special Olympics Europe Eurasia (SOEE) region. Football and basketball are by far the most popular team sports with athletes across the region embracing the power of our long-established annual European Football Week and European Basketball Week initiatives.
Special Olympics World Winter Games Turin 2025 - Highlights
Opportunities and Development
European and Invitational sports competitions are regularly organised to provide a clear progression pathway from local to national to international events for thousands of athletes and Unified partners across our region.
Sport for Development
Athletes with intellectual disabilities of all ability levels are welcome at every Special Olympics event in our region.
SOEE also offers regular coach education opportunities, in collaboration with sports federations and other expert partners.
Every other year, Sports Directors and other sports staff from across our region gather at the Special Olympics Europe Eurasia Sports Conference.
Learn more about Sports at Special Olympics:
Sport and Competition
Sport and Coaching
Sport for Development
Athletes with intellectual disabilities of all ability levels are welcome at every Special Olympics event in our region.
SOEE also offers regular coach education opportunities, in collaboration with sports federations and other expert partners.
Every other year, Sports Directors and other sports staff from across our region gather at the Special Olympics Europe Eurasia Sports Conference.
Learn more about Sports at Special Olympics:
Sport and Competition
Sport and Coaching
Partnerships
Sports partnerships with 15 leading European sport federations help promote social inclusion and sport for development through regular training sessions and competitions for children and adults with and without intellectual disabilities.
Athletes and coaches also benefit greatly from the support of pan-European partners such as sports federations and the European Union (EU). This includes EU-funded sports projects and the European Week of Sport activities across communities in all 27 EU Member States, and beyond.
Athletes and coaches also benefit greatly from the support of pan-European partners such as sports federations and the European Union (EU). This includes EU-funded sports projects and the European Week of Sport activities across communities in all 27 EU Member States, and beyond.
Unified Sports and the POMI App
In Special Olympics Unified Sports®, people with and without intellectual disabilities train and compete together on the same team.
The Principle of Meaningful Involvement (POMI) is the foundation for successful inclusion in Unified Sports teams. POMI means that every player gets to play, has an important role during a game and can show their skills. In order to observe and record the implementation of POMI in competitions, Unified Sports experts from the SOEE region developed the POMI App, a simple, web-based observation, documentation and education tool. Available in eight sports, the app ensures a positive Unified Sports experience for athletes, partners and everyone involved.
The Principle of Meaningful Involvement (POMI) is the foundation for successful inclusion in Unified Sports teams. POMI means that every player gets to play, has an important role during a game and can show their skills. In order to observe and record the implementation of POMI in competitions, Unified Sports experts from the SOEE region developed the POMI App, a simple, web-based observation, documentation and education tool. Available in eight sports, the app ensures a positive Unified Sports experience for athletes, partners and everyone involved.
