Romanian Special Olympics Football team takes home the silver

The Romanian Special Olympics Football team won second place in the Special Olympics Unified Football Cup organized in Detroit, Michigan, USA.

For the week between July 31 and August 6, Detroit hosted more than 300 athletes with disabilities and partners, from 21 countries, at the Special Olympics Unified Football Cup, a FIFA-standard event.

The first division tournament champions were Special Olympics Jamaica in men's football and Special Olympics Guatemala in women's football.

The Special Olympics Romania (SOR) men's football team, consisting of 15 players, competed in group B, alongside Paraguay, Singapore, Saudi Arabia, and Jamaica, entered the second division, and played in the final against Saudi Arabia.

The 15 players (9 with intellectual disabilities, and 6 of them without) were coached by Emilian Șerbănică, Gheorghe Constantin, and Cornel Sava.

"At the end of a highly contested world-class football competition, the Special Olympics Romania team won silver medals and a meritorious 2nd place in Group II of the competition held in Detroit, Michigan. But beyond the medals and the win, what matters is the friendship between the athletes and their partners, who fought match after match for victory in a spirit of fair play," said Sports Director of Special Olympics Romania and leader of the delegation, Viorel Mocanu.

The Special Olympics Unified Sports program brings together athletes with and without intellectual disabilities who play on the same team, demonstrating that training and competing together breaks down barriers and ultimately creates inclusive communities.

The main objective of the Special Olympics Unified Football Cup Detroit 2022 was to work with professional football clubs and their foundations to support the inclusion of people with intellectual disabilities and the development of a unified sport.

Globally, over 885,000 Special Olympics athletes and partners (athletes without intellectual disabilities) compete in football.

Founded in 1968, the Special Olympics is a global movement that aims to end discrimination against people with intellectual disabilities.

(Photo source: Special Olympics Romania)