Meeting the athletes for the Special Olympics World Summer Games, Abu Dhabi

4 March 2019

Today, in Baku Sports Hall, Minister of Labour and Social Protection Sahil Babayev, Minister of Youth and Sports Azad Rahimov, Vice President of the National Olympic Committee of Azerbaijan Chingiz Huseynzade, President of the Special Olympics Azerbaijan Shahin Aliyev, and Vice-President of Special Olympics Azerbaijan and parliament member Fazil Mustafa met the athletes and delegation members who will participate in the Special Olympics World Summer Games in United Arab Emirates, Abu Dhabi, on 14-22 March 2019.

Initially, the training process of our athletes and the musical composition prepared by children with mental disabilities were discussed. The ministers played tennis with young athlete Habib Tagiyev who have succeeded in various competitions, as well as talked to sportsmen, and interviewed the media.

Mr Rahimov spoke about the close attention of President Ilham Aliyev to sports and noted that the Special Olympics were also created for the new achievements. He said, more than 7,000 Special Olympics athletes representing more than 170 countries around the world will participate in the World Summer Games, where Azerbaijan will be represented by 56 sportsmen in 10 types of sports.

Mr Babayev underlined that increasing the opportunities for people with disabilities to rehabilitate and integrate into society is an important part of President Ilham Aliyev's social policy. As one of the works carried out in this field, he noted, that organization of sporting events among persons with disabilities, as well as participation in international competitions. The minister also mentioned that our Special Olympic athletes also supported the participation of Abu Dhabi in the Special Olympics World Summer Games. Among the staff members of the Games, there are representatives of the Ministry of Social Services for children with disabilities. With the support of the Heydar Aliyev Foundation, conditions have been created to accommodate modern living standards and rehabilitation in these facilities, as well as various sports.

Today, Special Olympics Azerbaijan unites about 5,000 athletes. According to Shahin Aliyev, the chairman, they actively cooperated with the Special Olympics Organization. He underlined that the Special Olympics movement in the country is constantly expanding in the conditions of the permanent support of the government.

The guests of the event wished success in the Special Olympics World Summer Games.

The first Special Olympics World Summer Games were held in 1968 in Chicago, USA. These games, organized by the Special Olympics Organization, are a global inclusion movement designed to enable people with intellectual disabilities to demonstrate their athletic skills. Special Olympic athletes of Azerbaijan also participate in these games. Previously, our athletes have returned to our country 24 medals, including 8 gold, 11 silver and 5 bronze medals at the Special Olympics Games in Los Angeles, California. Our athletes have been successful in athletics, badminton, judo, table tennis, powerlifting and swimming.

The participation of our athletes in the Special Olympics World Summer Games 2019 in Abu Dhabi is supported by the Ministry of Youth and Sports, and the Ministry of Labour and Social Protection of Population.