SOGB’s Chairman Lawrie McMenemy at Grass Roots Football Live

Lawrie McMenemy at Grass Roots Live 2009

From 12 - 14 June Special Olympics Great Britain (SOGB) made its Grass Roots Football Live debut as the event's official charity of choice for the following three years.

On the final day of the show, SOGB’s Chairman Lawrie McMenemy MBE gave a talk about the charity’s activities and Tottenham Hotspurs Coaches ran a training session for the Special Olympics Youth Unified Football - North West League.

Football legends Peter Shilton, Paul Merson, Neville Southall, Ian Holloway, Tony Cottee and Graham Taylor all took time to learn about Special Olympics GB.

Aditionally, Sub-4  showed their support to Special Olympics GB by raising funds for the charity over the weekend. Clifton Bradeley from Sub-4 said, "We all had a great time at the show, made even more so, knowing we were raising money for such a good cause."  

McMenemy and Tottenham Hotspur coaches with Unified Football North West League

Special Olympics Unified Football® combines players between the ages of 16-25 years with and without learning disabilities on the same football teams to play and compete alongside each other in a fair and formal format. The goal is to break down barriers in the community, promoting the full inclusion of learning disabled youngsters whilst encouraging social interaction.

This initiative was launched in October 2008 with a Special Olympics Unified team from Merseyside playing against the All Parliamentary Football squad. Ex-Premiership official Dermot Gallagher refereed the match, the first of its kind in Britain. The match was overseen by former Southampton and Northern Ireland manager Lawrie McMenemy MBE, who is Chairman of SOGB. He was supported by Minister of Sport Gerry Sutcliffe MP and Sir Matthew Pinsent, and SOGB Ambassador Hope Powell, England's and Ladies Football Head Coach.

There are currently 18 unified football teams established around the country which includes 210 Athletes and Unified Partners. Part of this success was facilitated by the newly established relationship between Special Olympics Europe/Eurasia and the Tottenham Hotspur Foundation.

In September 2009, eleven footballers and two coaches from Special Olympics Halton will represent Great Britain in Istanbul, Turkey at Special Olympics European Youth Unified Football Tournament.