European Football Week 2020

Football is one of the most popular sports in Special Olympics Europe Eurasia with 139,800 players and 8,300 coaches registered, and European Football Week has long been a jewel in our sports calendar. This year, even the national restrictions in place across Europe to halt the spread of COVID-19 couldn’t stop us celebrating European Football Week #EFW2020—although we will be doing things a little differently! While there will still be some limited football events organized across Europe, our love of football will mainly be celebrated online with Faces of Football.

Faces of Football is a dynamic online hub which creates an opportunity for Special Olympics athletes, coaches and supporters to participate in European Football Week, even if they cannot physically take part in activities and events together.

Everyone is invited to participate. The Special Olympics PLAYERS, who train hard and love the game, and the UNIFIED PARTNERS who play alongside them. The COACHES who volunteer and the SUPPORTERS—families, friends and partners—who cheer on Special Olympics players every day.

Go to Faces of Football, watch the video, join and set up a Faces of Football profile. Then follow the steps to complete each skill in our Training Ground and help your programme move up the League Table! Learn more

Helping to make this year’s Faces of Football a reality are our two proud partners, Toyota Motor Europe and Lions Clubs International Foundation. We are also working proudly working alongside the European Football for Development Network who are driving inclusion in football forward this September with their own campaign: #MorethanFootball!

Women's football—Special Olympics World Games Abu Dhabi 2019

Photo by Claire Behan

Women's football—Special Olympics World Games Abu Dhabi 2019

Photo by Claire Behan

Special Olympics Spain—Unified Tournament in Villareal.

Special Olympics Italy—Serie A players promoting Special Olympics.

Special Olympics Italy—Unified Football Team.

European Football Week 2018 activities organised by Special Olympics Hellas (Greece).

Photo by ΣΤΕΦΑΝΟΥ ΣΤΕΛΙΟΣ/INTIME SPORTS

Special Olympics Germany athletes join a training session with SGS Essen for European Football Week 2019.

Photo by Sarah Rauch

Legendary footballer Marcos Evangelista de Morais, known as “Cafu,” (right) with Special Olympics Europe Eurasia President and Managing Director, David Evangelista (left) and Sargent Shriver International Global Messenger, Emanuelle Dutra Fernandes de Souza.

Photo by Fernando Cambeiro

EFW began back in 2000 with generous support UEFA, 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.

For 20 years UEFA has kindly supported football development in Special Olympics Europe Eurasia. Over 30 National Football Associations and 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!

Learn more about our work with UEFA.