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The tournament poster |
Anjar will prove that ability on 1 September, playing in the South East Asia Unified Football Tournament, organized by Special Olympics. The nonprofit organization gives people with intellectual disabilities a platform to showcase their sporting talents.
During the two-day Unified Football Tournament, seven male and three female teams with players 12 to 23 years old, from Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia and Thailand, will compete in the five-a-side tournament.
In Unified Sports Special Olympics athletes and players without intellectual disability, known as Unified Partners, train together and play together on the same team. It’s mutually beneficial. Athletes learn teamwork and sportsmanship, while Unified Partners like Anja gain a better understanding of their peers with intellectual disabilities. Above all, both parties have a great time on the pitch.
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The Special Olympics Singapore Soccer team winning gold last year in Athens |
Explains Indonesian Coach Rangga Goenadi, “It helps to understand each athlete’s character and for me to find the right pattern and combination for them to accept and apply my teachings. I treat these athletes with the same respect I would to anyone else and help them find the best in their game. What’s most important is not winning, but the opportunities they get with football.”
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Captain Suhaili Bin Sa'al at the Special Olympics World Summer Games last year in Athens. |
Singapore Coach Gabriel Tan sums up the Special Olympics experience: “No one said it was easy but at the end of the day, when an athlete can stand proud on the field of play knowing they have given their all, that's courage and excellence at its best.”
Event Information
DATE: 1 – 2 September 2012
VENUE: Academy of Singapore Teachers, 2 Malan Road, Singapore 109433
(Free Admission for all)
SCHEDULE:
Day 1 - 1 September
8:30-11 am
Opening Ceremony and VIP Unified Football Match
(Featuring Singapore Parliament Football Team and Special Olympics Athletes)
11am - 12 noon
Competition Rounds
2 - 4 pm
Competition Rounds Continued
Day 2 - 2 September
9 am - 1 pm
Competition Rounds
2:00 - 2:45 pm
Finals
4 pm
Closing Ceremony and Awards Presentation
Visit the event page for more details: http://www.specialolympics.org/Regions/asia-pacific/News-and-Stories/Stories/South-East-Asia-Unified-Football-Tournament.aspx
(P.S: This is a feature article contributed by Special Olympics with images depicted being provided by the article contributor)
I am really glad to see more and more tournaments from regions like Asian in which soccer has not been developed like in other countries, but they have the talent and discipline to do it
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