Special Olympics Africa teams will be competing in Kazan, Russia
7 countries from Africa Region will send competing teams to the Special Olympics World Winter Games 2022 in Kazan, Russia
Special Olympics teams from Burkina Faso, Cote d’Ivoire, Equatorial Guinea, Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria and South Africa will join over 2,000 athletes with intellectual disabilities from 108 nations as they compete in seven sports in January 2022 in Kazan, Russia.
By creating an atmosphere of equality, unity, youth, and pride through sports, Special Olympics World Winter Games 2022 will educate the public, change perceptions, challenge stereotypes, and address barriers to inclusion.
In a typical year, Special Olympics holds over 100,000 competition events in 32 Olympic-style sports for over six million athletes and Unified partners in over 190 countries and territories. During the pandemic, many local Programs are holding virtual games, where athletes compete in activities they can do at home, including holding a plank position, doing sit-ups, dribbling a ball, and more.
The next Special Olympics World Games are in Berlin, Germany in 2023: 7,000 athletes from 170 nations, 3,000 coaches, 20,000 volunteers, 6,000 family members, 2,000 national/international media, and 500,000 spectators. Previous World Winter Games were in Austria in 2017, and previous World Games were in Abu Dhabi in 2019. The first Special Olympics World Games were held in July 1968 at Soldier Field in Chicago.
