The Cote d’Ivoire Floorball Federation held a tournament for intellectually disabled players together with the Ivory Coast Special Olympics.

The executive board of the Ivory Coast Special Olympics in close collaboration with the Cote d’Ivoire Floorball Federation organised a floorball tournament for intellectually disabled players. One of the main goals of the tournament was to prepare the athletes for the Special Olympics World Winter Games 2017 which are held in Austria.

The tournament was held in the Sports Centre of Treichville in Abidjan, May 28th 2016. Three teams took part, including a unified women’s team, with both players who have and don’t have an intellectual disability. At the end of the tournament, all players received awards for participation.

The President of the Cote d’Ivoire Floorball Federation Manland Koutoua Didier Aime was pleased with the event:
– Floorball is quite a new sport for the intellectually disabled athletes in the Ivory Coast. However, we could enjoy some beautiful moments. The athletes are known for their motivation and quick learning. Also the coaches were very satisfied with the level of playing.

The tournament was also a success for the sport:
– We (Cote d’Ivoire Floorball Federation) educated the people about the sport and the event also had good media coverage. We have also built a foundation for teaching floorball to the Special Olympics players. At the same time, we were able to promote the sport in the country, says Manland Koutoua Didier Aime.

Source & more information:
www.specialolympics.org
www.floorball.org/pages/EN/Cote-dIvoire & www.facebook.com/specialolympicscotedivoire
http://www.specialolympics.org/Regions/africa/Locations/Special-Olympics-AF-Cote-d-Ivoire