Tottenham Hotspur Builds Foundations with Special Olympics in Beijing

Beijing, China (August 05, 2009) /ChinaNewswire.com/ — The Tottenham Hotspur Foundation teamed up with Special Olympics East Asia (SOEA) on July 31st to demonstrate the power of football by bringing together Foundation staff, Special Olympics East Asia coaches and volunteers to deliver a very unique coaching clinic for local Special Olympics athletes with intellectual disabilities. SOEA officials and volunteers from local universities also presented.

The football coaching clinic involved 20 Special Olympics athletes' ages 16 years plus of mixed ability and was aimed at creating a fun filled experience while demonstrating communication skills required to coach athletes who have a intellectual disability.

First team goalkeeping coach Tony Parks worked alongside the Club's Foundation coaches at Si De Park in Beijing, bringing his coaching expertise to the session.

He commented on the success of the coaching clinic, "The Foundation coaches are doing a fantastic job, they put in a lot of hard work in the local community in and around Tottenham and now they are on a bigger stage, bringing their work out to places like China.

"My overriding impression was just seeing how happy the athletes are playing football, seeing them work in teams, it was a fantastic experience. Football has a role to play and a responsibility in the community. You see how good the club is at going out and reaching to all parts of the community and it's important we maintain those links."

Ms. Anna Chan, Managing Director of SOEA said, "we are very grateful that coaches from Tottenham Hotspur facilitate this football clinic for Special Olympics athletes during their tight schedule, providing our athletes with first-rate professional football coaching experience. Special Olympics launched Global Football Development Initiative last year to promote football around the world. We believe that the popular sport of football will help Special Olympics athletes to enjoy the fun of sports and promote acceptance and inclusion of people with intellectual disabilities among general public."

The Tottenham Hotspur Foundation is involved with Special Olympics at local, national and international level through their commitment towards making sport inclusive, and providing the most appropriate player pathway for disabled people from grass roots to elite levels of sport.

The Foundation is supported by Tottenham Hotspur Football club to promote awareness of the Special Olympics movement, recruit new athletes and jointly fundraise to create innovative partnership work.

The Tottenham Hotspur Foundation is the Official Special Olympics Europe/Eurasia Grassroots Football Provider. This partnership focuses on delivering specialised coaching sessions across Europe and elsewhere around the world, such as the one in Beijing.

About Special Olympics East Asia
Special Olympics is an international nonprofit organization dedicated to empowering individuals with intellectual disabilities to become physically fit, productive and respected members of society through sports training and competition. Founded in 1968 by Eunice Kennedy Shriver, Special Olympics provides year-round sports training and competition to 3 million adults and children with intellectual disabilities across 180 plus countries. The Special Olympics movement offers one of the world's greatest platforms for acceptance and inclusion for all people – regardless of race, religion, ethnicity or cultural differences. As one of the seven regions of Special Olympics, Special Olympics East Asia (SOEA) works very closely with its five Programs including China, Korea, Hong Kong, Macao and Chinese Taipei to promote Sports and Non-Sports initiatives throughout the Region. Find out how you can become involved at www.specialolympics.org or www.specialolympicseastasia.org.

CONTACT INFORMATION

• Annie Yang
  Senior Public Relations Manager
  Special Olympics East Asia
  Tel: 86-10-59004566 ext 818