European Football Week #EFW2018
The Beautiful Game
Supported by UEFA Respect, MetLife, national football federations and professional clubs, European Football Week (EFW) is a highlight in the Special Olympics calendar. This year, from 19 to 27 May, 45,000 participants across 50 countries will take part in 450 events.
- Overview of European Football Week 2018
- 'Playing & Growing Together' – introduction to the theme of EFW2018
Playing and Growing Together
Special Olympics European Football Week empowers athletes some with and without intellectual disabilities to Play Unified and show that inclusion through sport is an achievable goal!
The theme of EFW2018 is ‘Playing and Growing Together—Increasing Opportunities for Children and Youth’. Under 12s Unified football will be a key focus as this age-group is the bridge between the Young Athletes Programme and regular Special Olympics Unified Football programming for those aged 12 years and older.
European Football Week video messages
Our Partners
UEFA Respect has been our committed and enthusiastic partner for European Football Week for 18 years! Together, we have organised more than 6,000 grassroots football activities with national football federations and clubs. Each of these events has played its part in positively changing attitudes towards players with intellectual disabilities and expanding football opportunities for players with intellectual disabilities.
Learn more about the partnership between Special Olympics and UEFA and about UEFA’s social responsibility activities. for information about UEFA resources please contact Miroslaw Krogulec or Aoife O'Grady.
This year, MetLife is once again generously supporting EFW! MetLife staff will volunteer at Young Athletes and Unified Football events in 15 countries as part of MetLife Community Service Week. As a result of Metlife’s generous support, the Young Athletes Programme and Unified football will continue to grow and develop in each participating country.
Special Olympics European Football Week: A brief history!
EFW began back in 2000 with 15 countries taking part. Although we have now grown to 50 countries, the objective remains the same: players of all the abilities getting the opportunity to take part and demonstrate their skills and talents at grassroots level.
Every year, clubs from European Leagues – from Italian Serie A and Serie B and Polish Ekstraklasa to German Bundesliga clubs – throw their support behind European Football Week. We can’t wait to see who gets involved this year!
Get involved
For more information on Special Olympics EFW contact Miroslaw Krogulec, Director of Sports and Organizational Development, Special Olympics Europe Eurasia.