Special Olympics Michigan President and Ceo Tim Hileman joined Rick Tiddle on the American Forces Network to discuss the Special Olympics Unified Cup 2022, that will take place in Detroit Michigan from 31 July – 6 August 2022. Nearly 600 athletes from up to 31 nations will compete with teams comprised of athletes with and without intellectual disabilities playing together.
The Special Olympics Unified Cup Detroit 2022 presented by Toyota will be the second-ever tournament in this single-sport series, which challenges negative attitudes towards people with intellectual disabilities and demonstrates how playing and competing together breaks down barriers to create a community of acceptance and inclusion. Special Olympics Unified Sports® bring together athletes with and without intellectual disabilities to play on the same team to promote inclusion through sport. Globally, there are more than 885,000 Special Olympics athletes and Unified partners (athletes without intellectual disabilities) who compete in football (soccer). This is the second time in the 53-year history of Special Olympics that the Unified Cup will be held.