Special Olympics GB Appoints Sport Collective
Special Olympics, the registered charity responsible for operating the global Special Olympics programme in the UK has appointed sports rights and marketing agency Sport Collective to develop its commercial strategy and programme.
10,000 athletes train and compete throughout the year in the UK with Special Olympics but 1.5m people currently have an Intellectual Disability (ID), a figure expected to rise by 14% by 2021.
Sport Collective will work closely with Special Olympics GB to develop and implement new strategies to increase revenue, VIK and marketing value and support the Special Olympics GB team for the upcoming World Summer Games in Abu Dhabi 2019.
The ultimate aim for the charity is to use sport as a tool to give every person with ID the chance to train and compete in order to demonstrate their abilities, develop new skills and confidence and become recognised for the inclusive, valued member of society they are.
Murton Mann, chairman of Special Olympics GB said: “Today is a pivotal moment in Special Olympics GB’s history as it transforms itself and reaches all people in GB with an Intellectual Disability to offer the opportunities to develop and demonstrate their skills – both sporting and personal. We are thankful for the support of Sport England at this key moment. To help achieve our ambition we are excited to be working with Sport Collective who have signed up to the Inclusion Revolution to make a difference – we ask brand partners to join us too.”
Peter Daire, director of Sport Collective said: “Special Olympics is an incredible movement that supports 5.7m athletes with an Intellectual Disability, globally. In the UK there are 1.5m people with ID, 50% of which live in poverty, and every one of them deserves the chance to compete in sport. We need brands to invest to make this happen and we are honoured to be working with the team at Special Olympics GB to support this objective.”
As the official charity partner of last week’s BT Sport Industry Awards 2018, Special Olympics chairman Tim Shriver opened the event alongside Special Olympics athlete Daniel Wolff (pictured below), who shared his experiences of competing in the programme here.
Shriver also caught up with Sport Industry Group last month, discussing everything from the 50th anniversary of the programme, taking the movement to new territories, and becoming the Official Charity Partner of the BT Sport Industry Awards. Read more here.
