Dani Alves Appointed Special Olympics Ambassador

September 30, 2011

Brazil and Barcelona defender Dani Alves has been appointed as a Special Olympics Ambassador for Global Football. The announcement was made by Special Olympics President & COO Brady Lum after a signing event in Barcelona.

Alves will promote inclusion and respect for athletes with intellectual disabilities in World football.

Alves said: “Football changed my life. It has opened more opportunities for me and has shaped me as a man. As an Ambassador for Special Olympics I want to play my part in ensuring that more and more athletes with intellectual disabilities have the chance to transform their own lives through the joy of football, achieving greater things both on and off the pitch. And in turn, they will inspire us all with their courage and spirit.”

Football is the second biggest Special Olympics sport; there are over 435,000 athletes and 206 accredited programmes worldwide. Alves will promote the Special Olympics Global Football Program, whose key objective is to bring football to a total of 1,000,000 players with intellectual disabilities worldwide. The programme is also aimed at improving the quality of coaching and help athletes develop skills they can use on and off the pitch, while connecting with a fan base of footballers around the world to raise vital funds for the movement.

Brady Lum, President & COO of Special Olympics said: “It is estimated that only one in 500 children with an intellectual disability will be given the chance to play football due to being seen by their peers as being “different” or “without ability.  Now one of the world’s best defenders is on our team, defending the right of people with intellectual disabilities to equal opportunities in sport. We are delighted to welcome Dani Alves to our Special Olympics family.”

Dani Alves follows an impressive list of famous footballers who have endorsed the Special Olympics Global Football initiative that includes Osvaldo Ardilles, Kaka, Christian Karembeu, Hidetoshi Nakata, Lucas Radebe, Romario, Clarence Seedorf, Javier Zanetti, and Zico.

In 2007 Special Olympics Global Football (SOGF) was launched to use the worldwide exposure of the world’s most popular sport to generate greater public awareness, acceptance and respect for people with intellectual disabilities, and to raise funds to expand Special Olympics football participation.