240 million people worldwide play football.
In celebration of World Football Day today, Special Olympics has launched a new football development strategy designed to get more players with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) than ever before playing the beautiful game.
most popular team sport globally
Football is the world’s most popular sport. Last year (2024), the United Nations officially declared May 25 as World Football Day, an occasion to celebrate the power of football to unite, break down barriers, promote peace, and empower minority groups.
In recognition of this new global day for football, Special Olympics has officially launched an ambitious five-year football development strategy which aims to rapidly increase the opportunities available to Special Olympics athletes to train and play the game.
"A multi-year global development plan for Special Olympics football enables us to strategically expand opportunities, foster inclusion, and elevate the game for footballers with intellectual and developmental disabilities,” explained Special Olympics International’s Vice President of Sport Development, Jon-Paul St. Germain.
“By aligning resources, partnerships, and competitions, we hope to attract investment partners to help us break down barriers, promote social change, and create a unified global community through the transformative power of the world's most popular sport," he added.
Football is the most popular sport across the Special Olympics movement and the most participated-in team sport. Latest figures reveal that close to 650,000 football players are lining out annually to play, train, and compete in the game across the Special Olympics movement. This number represents 449,000 male players, and 191,000 female players.
These players are supported in their efforts by a dedicated cohort of 27,000 skilled and certified football coaches. And with more than 16,000 football competitions taking place around the world in 2023 alone, interest in the game continues to grow year on year.
To capitalize on this growing interest, one of the key objectives of the new strategy will be to significantly increase the numbers of partnerships between Special Olympics national organizations (programs) and their respective national football federations. Currently, more than 110 such partnerships exist with a range of support and engagements on offer, including coach education and training, sport officials training, and direct competition support, with access to financial funding and top-quality football equipment.
Special Olympics also has a range of key partnerships with leading football entities at the regional level, including UEFA, CONMEBOL, the MLS, and K League.
inclusion through sport
Speaking at the International Sports Press Association Congress in Rabat, Morocco, earlier this month, Special Olympics’ lead for football development, Jeff Lahart, explained to an audience of hundreds of sports journalists from 100 plus countries worldwide, how Special Olympics uses football as a development tool to transform lives both on and off the pitch, and the critical role football partnerships play in this work at all level.
“Special Olympics is one of the leading sport for development organization in the world today, and we use football as a powerful tool for social change. Our football partnerships represent a critical piece of this work, and we work with football partners, at every level, to provide more opportunities for athletes to participate in football, including contributing to events as officials, match commissioners, volunteers, and commentators. This work is ongoing and will continue to expand as we level up the opportunities we provide to our football players.”
The new global football strategy is fully aligned with the Special Olympics Global Strategic Plan and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. Other key areas of focus for the new football strategy include coach development, gender equity, enhanced communications to showcase Special Olympics football, and continuous improvement of competition standards at the local, national, regional and international levels.
Read more about the new global football development strategy.
Meanwhile, in what has been a busy month of football action for Special Olympics, Special Olympics Europe Eurasia wrapped up the 25th edition of European Football Week this weekend with football activations taking place in 45 nations across the region.
European Football Week is a grassroots-driven initiative aiming to inspire local communities to host Unified football events, where individuals with and without IDD play side by side.
Since its inception in 2000, EFW has provided opportunities for over 700,000 people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) to engage in football, fostering inclusion and community.
