The Honorable Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina officially inaugurated the 1st Special Olympic South Asian 5-A-Side Football Festival 2012 at the Army Stadium on May 22, 2012.

Grameenphone in association with Special Olympics, Bangladesh has organized the tournament that kicked off yesterday (May 21,2012) and will continue till May 24, 2012. 

This is for the first time that Bangladesh is hosting such an international football tournament where all the players are differently able children. Special Olympic Football teams from India, Pakistan, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh are participating in this tournament.

Minister of Social Welfare Enamul Hoque Mostofa Shaheed, Chief of Army Staff, General Md. Abdul Mubeen, Tore Johnsen, CEO of Grameenphone and officials of Special Olympics, Bangladesh also participated in the grand opening ceremony of this tournament. 

The Special Olympics is an international platform which aims to develop the self-confidence and socials skills of people with intellectual disabilities and helps them gain a sense of personal accomplishment through sports, training and competition.

Grameenphone, the pioneering mobile phone operator of Bangladesh, strongly believes in being inspiring and has been associated with Special Olympics, Bangladesh since 2007 as the sole official sponsor of the Bangladesh team to empower the intellectually challenged athletes by nurturing and nourishing their sporting capabilities.

Till date, the Bangladesh team achieved 67 gold, 22 silver and 40 bronze medals by participating in the Special Olympic Games held in China and Greece in 2007 and 2011 respectively.

The closing ceremony of this tournament will be held on May 23, 2012 at BKSP, Savar-Dhaka. 

Corporate Communications Department
Grameenphone Ltd.
Telephone: 9882990
website: www.grameenphone.com