Italy

From Brussels to Nairobi and from Tuzla to Turin and beyond, the Special Olympics Unified with Refugees program continues to expand its reach in affording Special Olympics athletes and refugee youth alike the opportunity to come together and Play Unified.

Since the Covid pandemic. many programmes in Europe have launched a new version of their virtual games!

Simone Perona, Special Olympics Italy marathon runner, competes in the BiUltra ultramarathon—a 24-hour-long race run yearly in Biella, Northern Italy.

Gerald Mballe, long time Special Olympics Italy Unified Partner and now Advisor for Special Olympics Europe Eurasia, shares a powerful and moving conversation about his life and sport with David Eades on Sports for Humanity's podcast, Live Like You Play.

Special Olympics Europe Eurasia is excited to announce that Special Olympics Italia Unified Partner, Gerald Mballe will join the regional team as the movement’s first-ever Advisor on the Special Olympics Unified with Refugees programme.

Special Olympics Europe Eurasia has today—on the International Day of Persons with Disabilities—announced that the first ever European Unified Youth Basketball Tournament will take place in Sansepolcro, Italy in October 2021.

Former Juventus stars David Trezeguet and Alessandro Del Piero showed their support for the athletes of Special Olympics and our work with refugees by joining recent Special Olympics European Football Week activities!

On 22 and 25 June 2020, over 70, adult mentors, National Directors and international Special Olympics staff gathered for the first-ever Special Olympics Europe Eurasia Online Youth Summit.

‘To The Moon And Back’ is the name of the exciting new initiative launched by Special Olympics Italy to keep the movement active now that restrictions in the country are being lifted.

With the world in lockdown over the past months, Special Olympics programmes across Europe Eurasia were forced to cancel or postpone activities to protect the health of athletes and their families.