Special Olympics and Nike Announce Three-Year Partnership

Two global, inclusive sport leaders team up to strengthen Unified Sports coaching and increase access to sport

WASHINGTON, July 14, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Special Olympics and Nike announced a three-year global partnership to further the longtime collaboration between the two global organizations to create access to sport for all youth. This new, global phase of the partnership elevates and expands upon Nike's more than two decades of support of Special Olympics Oregon, recent support of Special Olympics Berlin and grants to other local Programs.

This partnership has been announced in tandem with Global Week of Inclusion (14-20 July), which is a week organized by Special Olympics every year marking the anniversary of the founding of Special Olympics. It is a worldwide celebration of unity, empowerment, and acceptance bringing together people with and without intellectual disabilities to foster inclusive communities. In 2025, we're celebrating 57 years of Special Olympics and inviting our partners and the community to help amplify this milestone like never before.

Special Olympics (SO) and Nike are focused on setting a new standard for coach education and retention for Special Olympics Unified Sports®, the Special Olympics program where athletes with and without intellectual disabilities (ID) play together on the same team. This work is critical to the shared mission of sport for development, which is the intentional use of sport, physical activity, and play to promote positive social change. This partnership will be delivered through Special Olympics Unified Champion Schools® (UCS). The support to UCS will help advance Nike's commitment to powering the future of youth sport where all youth have access to sport. In addition to innovating their coach training for all Special Olympics Unified Sports coaches globally according to the most recent evidence-based and expert-informed guidance on quality and inclusive youth sport coaching.

The partnership will concentrate on four key communities: Oregon, Berlin, Johannesburg, and Tokyo. Nike will engage its employees as volunteers in all four communities as a key element of the partnership, beginning with employee volunteer opportunities at both Special Olympics Oregon and Special Olympics Berlin Summer Games this July.

"As a company founded by a coach and an athlete, we know that the role of a coach can be transformational and we are thrilled to expand our long-time commitment to Special Olympics with this global partnership to highlight the role coaches have to positively shape the youth sport experience," said Vanessa Garcia-Brito, VP and Chief Impact Officer, Nike. "With Special Olympics, we're expanding access to youth sport for more young people all around the world – so all youth have an opportunity to achieve their greatest potential."

"Our global partnership with Nike will strengthen our sport for development initiatives by expanding our world-class coaching tools and increasing gender parity in our Unified Sports programs," said Mary Davis, CEO at Special Olympics International. "Utilizing our capabilities as a force for inclusive education, along with support from a fellow global sports leader in Nike, allows us to broaden the meaningful opportunities available to Special Olympics athletes and coaches."

Over the course of the three-year partnership, Nike and Special Olympics will collaborate on updating Special Olympics' Global Unified Sports Coach courses and train-the-trainer materials, leveraging Nike's three decades of youth sport coaching experience and deep insights with global partners and experts focused on quality coaching that's inclusive and welcoming to all youth. They will also work to recruit more Unified Sports coaches to more closely reflect community demographics—with the ambition of training and certifying more than 600 additional volunteer coaches across the four key communities. The two organizations also aim to create more opportunities for young women and girls to access Unified Sports.

"Coaching and supporting players in Unified Basketball games has been one of the most rewarding parts of my role. Seeing proud parents moved to tears as they watch their child achieve so much, witnessing Unified partners form genuine friendships with Special Olympics athletes, and watching teams play with respect—not dominance—fills me with pride," said Jamaal Goodlow, Unified Basketball Coach of Parkrose High School in Portland, Oregon. "As a properly trained Unified coach, I know how essential it is to foster inclusion, teamwork, and mutual respect on and off the field."

"As someone who grew up around both Nike and Special Olympics, I've seen firsthand the incredible ability these two organizations have to inspire the world over," said David Evangelista, the newly-named incoming CEO of Special Olympics and current President and Managing Director of Special Olympics Europe Eurasia. "This partnership reflects our shared belief that everyone is an athlete, and has the potential to achieve their best, and to be brave. Together, we're not only raising the bar for coaches' education and making sports more inclusive for all —we're showing the world that when we Play Unified, we change mindsets, we change communities, and in the deepest way, we can change lives, including our own." 

About Special Olympics

Founded in 1968, Special Olympics is a global movement to end discrimination against people with intellectual disabilities. We foster acceptance of all people through the power of sport and programming in education, health and leadership. With nearly four million athletes and Unified Sports® partners and one million coaches and volunteers in more than 170 countries, Special Olympics delivers more than 30 Olympic-type sports and nearly 50,000 games and competitions every year. Engage with us on: X, Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, and LinkedIn. Learn more at SpecialOlympics.org.

About Nike Social & Community Impact
Nike is helping to power the future of youth sport — with the vision of an active, inclusive world that inspires all youth to play and achieve their greatest potential. Together with community organizations, athletes, experts and employees, we're changing the game to improve sport access and experience for everyone. We're focused on providing quality coaching, engaging more youth – especially girls – in sport, and addressing societal barriers that keep too many youth on the sidelines. All youth need play for communities to thrive, and an active next generation means a better future for everyone. Learn more about our Social & Community Impact work as part of Nike's Purpose, to move the world forward through the power of sport.

SOURCE Special Olympics International