Said Abdel Lah’s life changed when he joined Plena Inclusión Ceuta, a partner of Special Olympics Spain.
Said, who was born in Ceuta and is 34 years old, had never gone to school before, barely had a social life and the only job he ever had was as a shepherd.
At Plena Inclusión Ceuta, he learned to speak in Spanish, started playing sports and got a stable job. When the lack of time forced him to choose a sport, he chose football.
Said was one of the many athletes who participated in the 7th National Unified Football 7 Tournament that Special Olympics Spain organized during European Football Week.
For the third year in a row, Special Olympics Spain joined forces with Villareal CF to show that sport can break barriers and bring athletes with and without disabilities to the same field.
The success of the event was summarized best by no one other than Said’s words "the match finished and we were all friends. Because football is about having fun, meeting people and talking to other players.