Manchester City and England star Jack Grealish recently built on his Principal Ambassador role with Special Olympics GB by inviting local athletes from the charity to the Etihad Campus to create lifelong memories.
Special Olympics GB uses the power of sport to help transform the lives of children and adults who have an intellectual disability. Fifteen of its athletes, from its clubs in Greater Manchester and Bury, got to watch Jack and the Premier League champions train before the England star hosted a football session in the Manchester City indoor football centre.
Jack Grealish said: “I’m so proud to be Principal Ambassador for Special Olympics GB. It’s something that means a lot to me and having days like this where I can meet the team, see them meet the rest of the squad and learn about their plans for the future is really inspiring.
“I’m determined to raise as much awareness as possible for the team and for the Special Olympics World Games later this year. Hopefully days like this have a really positive impact for everyone involved.”
Grealish committed to his long-term role with Special Olympics GB in June last year, with the aim of raising visibility of the charity’s work and driving support and sporting opportunities for the 1.5 million people who live with intellectual disabilities in Great Britain.
He took to Instagram last summer to announce his role as Principal Ambassador to his 5M+ followers, and he has since used his platform to share various Special Olympics GB activities and other work that he himself has been doing in his wider community.
Instagram have committed to supporting Jack throughout 2022 & 2023, aiming to shine a light on the partnership with Special Olympics GB and the incredible work that they are doing together. A recap of the day can be found on Jack’s Instagram page here.
Ben Mathews, Programme Development Manager at Special Olympics GB and Head Coach of the Unified Football team at the upcoming Berlin 2023 Special Olympics World Games, said:
“We’re incredibly grateful to Jack and to Manchester City for giving our athletes this opportunity to train at one of the world’s leading football facilities.
“We’re committed to developing more sporting opportunities for children and adults with intellectual disabilities across the country. Having Jack supporting and telling more people about our work can make a huge difference and hopefully it can lead to more people getting involved in sporting opportunities and transforming lives.”
Later this year, Special Olympics GB is taking more than 80 athletes to compete in 16 sports at the Berlin 2023 Special Olympics World Games, which is a quadrennial event with 7,000 athletes competing from around the world.
Across the country, Special Olympics GB is the UK’s largest provider of year-round sports training and competition for children and adults of all abilities with intellectual disabilities. More than 6,500 athletes are currently registered and are participating at one of the 95 accredited programmes within Scotland, England and Wales, which are delivered by a devoted team of around 3,500 volunteers.