Unified 3x3 Basketball World Cup
The inaugural Special Olympics Unified 3x3 Basketball World Cup will feature basketball players with and without intellectual disabilities playing on the same team.
San Juan, Puerto Rico, will be the host site for the very first Special Olympics Unified 3x3 Basketball World Cup, marking the first time in the 57-year history of the global sporting movement that a Unified 3x3 Basketball World Cup will take place. Modeled after the International Basketball Federation (FIBA) World Cup™, this historic event will bring together 20 men’s teams and 18 women’s teams comprised of Special Olympics basketball players and Unified partners (teammates without intellectual disabilities) representing each Special Olympics region around the world.
Unified 3x3 Basketball World Cup
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When: 5 – 7 December 2025
Where: San Juan, Puerto Rico
Media Registration Now Open!
We’re thrilled to announce that media registration for the Special Olympics Unified 3X3 Basketball World Cup 2025 is officially open!
Members of the press and media professional professionals are invited to apply for accreditation to cover this global event help us to share the incredible stories of inclusion competition, and the spirit of the Unified 3x3 Basketball World Cup.
For questions or assistance, please contact:
nnelson@specialolympics.org and mostrander@specialolympics.org
Members of the press and media professional professionals are invited to apply for accreditation to cover this global event help us to share the incredible stories of inclusion competition, and the spirit of the Unified 3x3 Basketball World Cup.
For questions or assistance, please contact:
nnelson@specialolympics.org and mostrander@specialolympics.org
200
Athletes & Unified Partners
30+
COUNTRIES WITH TEAMS
20 / 18
Men's and Women's Teams
250
Volunteers
250
Participants (including Judges and Officials)
250+
Family Members & Honored Guests
40+
Credentialed Media
800
Spectators Per Day
10
Award Ceremonies
Special Events & Programs
My First Sport Experience
Healthy Athletes
Motor Activity Training Program
Unified Sports Experience
Families & Honored Guests Program
Sports Clinics
Host Town Activity
"Let me win. But if I cannot win, let me be brave in the attempt."
About this Event
Using Basketball to Overcome the Exclusion of her Past: Cecilia Gonzalez
Meet Cecilia Gonzalez, a basketball player with Special Olympics Paraguay, whose life is now unrecognizable after she discovered her love for basketball and competing with Special Olympics.
Special Olympics Announces Draw for First-Ever Unified 3x3 Basketball World Cup in December
200 athletes from around the world will compete in this historic event.
3x3 Unified Basketball World Cup Draw Sets First Round of Play
The Special Olympics Unified 3x3 Basketball World Cup Draw Ceremony was held today in San Juan, Puerto Rico officially marking the start of the World Cup and setting the stage for what teams, spectators, families, and basketball fans around the world can expect for gameplay come 5 – 7 December.
Special Olympics Puerto Rico Hosts Live Draw Ceremony for the Inaugural Unified 3x3 Basketball World Cup
San Juan will make history this December hosting the world’s first inclusive basketball tournament of its kind, where athletes of all abilities will compete side by side, demonstrating the power of sport to unite and inspire.
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