Special Olympics Brazil: It’s About More Than Just the Kit

For more than three years, adidas has stood alongside Special Olympics Brazil, supporting athletes, competitions, and initiatives that use sport as a tool for inclusion and transformation. In 2026, the partnership reached a historic milestone: adidas outfitted the Brazilian delegation at the Unified Football World Cup in Paris, where Brazil won the world title for the first time.

But perhaps the most important part of this story is not the trophy. It’s what happened before, during, and after winning it.

When Being Seen Transforms Lives

For those discovering the Special Olympics for the first time, one of the most striking realizations is how far its work extends beyond competition.

Athletes and their families receive close support, sustained by a network of volunteers, preparation, training and shared experiences. Above all, it creates opportunities for people with intellectual disabilities to experience sport, compete, and take their place in spaces that are still too often not open to them.

This is a tangible expression of adidas’ purpose that through sport, we have the power to change lives,' and supporting those who need more opportunities to experience it is a great way to bring that purpose to life.

For some athletes, taking part in a competition can mean much more than competing for a medal. It can mean traveling for the first time, discovering new places, becoming part of a team, representing their country, or simply realizing that something once thought impossible is within reach.

And part of that is another transformation: being seen.

When the Special Olympics athletes took part in an adidas photoshoot, the impact was not limited to the images produced. It also came from the experience of these athletes seeing themselves represented in a campaign for a recognized sports brand.

In this case, sport was not merely the backdrop. It paved the path that helped them feel capable, recognized, and that they belong.

The Power and the Potential

In one partnership experience, Special Olympics artistic gymnasts took part in the launch of Rebeca Andrade’s film and had the opportunity to join the Olympic medalist on stage. It was a special moment, experienced up close and made even more meaningful by a keepsake kit prepared to celebrate their participation in such a memorable occasion.

For those who were there, it was a special experience.

For a sports brand, it was also a powerful reminder of the power of bringing people together.

The partnership also placed adidas at the heart of Special Olympics’ greatest achievements. In Paris, athletes both with and without intellectual disabilities came together to form Brazil’s Unified Football Team. Brazil finished the competition unbeaten and claimed the world title after defeating Ecuador 1–0 in the final.

And when that team lifted the trophy, they were celebrating much more than a sporting victory.

They were celebrating the athletes, families, coaches, Unified partners, volunteers, and an entire network that made the journey possible.

An achievement built as a team, exactly as sport should be.

Sharing With our Consumers

Social responsibility has long been part of adidas’ journey. For that commitment to be genuine, it is also important to build relationships with partners who share similar values and goals.

Special Olympics is one of those partners.

This partnership is by no means limited to athletes or behind the scenes of the brand. It also has the ability to reach those on the other side: in stores, the app, or the website.

On September 21 – Brazil’s National Day of Struggle for People with Disabilities – the net profit from the sale of adidas Sambas was donated to the Special Olympics Brazil Foundation, turning a purchase decision into a direct way to support inclusive sport.

Because when a cause finds space within a brand, it can also find space in people’s lives.

For the organization itself, this support is already helping expand the movement’s reach in Brazil.

“adidas is a fantastic partner of Special Olympics in Brazil and, with its support, we have been able to increase the number of athletes and partners who are part of the movement.

“Today, there are nearly 44,000 across 15 states. We have also helped ensure that they thrive in international competitions, such as the Latin American Games in Asunción in 2023, the Unified 3x3 Basketball World Cup in San Juan in 2025 and, most recently, the Unified Football World Cup in Paris in 2026, where we became champions.

“I am confident that this commercial initiative will be a great success and will help us do even more for the cause of people with intellectual disabilities through sport.” – Douglas Pereira, President of Special Olympics Brazil

And when consumers, athletes, employees, and partners become part of the same story, the impact stops being just a message and becomes action.

What This Partnership Teaches Us

For those who work at adidas, this may be one of the most important parts of the story:

Our purpose does not live only in campaigns, products, or stores.

It comes to life when we use the power of sport to create opportunities. When we give visibility to those who are still so rarely seen. When we support partners who work every day to transform lives. When we understand that a sports brand can also give back to society some of the impact it receives from it.

The partnership with Special Olympics makes all of this more tangible.

Because dressing champions also means recognizing the champions who are writing new stories.

And perhaps that is the greatest victory of this partnership.

Not simply putting the three stripes on a jersey.

But ensuring that, through them, more people can discover just how far sport can take them.