“Basketball has changed my life and I am proud to be part of this family.”
The words of Greek Andreas Vassilopoulos about his 16 years as a Special Olympics athlete.
“My mother encouraged me to participate in the Special Olympics when I was 15. I went to a training session and immediately felt connected,” recalls Andreas, now 31 years old.
“The coaches and teammates were all very helpful and made me feel like I belonged there.
“Basketball has made me more social, confident and happier. I have met friends, learned to work together and gained more self-confidence.”
Panathinaikos AKTOR collaboration
Andreas’ basketball journey with Special Olympic Games Hellas just got even more exciting.
He plays on a Unified team that has now joined one of the largest and most successful teams in Europe, allowing him to experience basketball at the highest level.
Andreas and his teammates have weekly training sessions with professional coaches and players from Greece Panathinaikos AKTOR.
They work on basketball skills, teamwork and communication and create inclusive activities that emphasize inclusivity, collaboration and mutual respect.
“It’s a great experience and I learned a lot,” says Andreas, originally from Athens.
“My highlight was when we trained together with Juancho Hernangómez and he congratulated me when I scored a very important point during the match.”
KAE Panathinaios AKTOR has been working with Special Olympics for twelve seasons.
This collaboration with the Unified team, through the The Euroleague One team Corporate Social Responsibility program is new for the 2025/2026 season.
The Unified team’s coach, Konstantinos Makropoulos, said the partnership brought “huge benefits.”
“Our athletes gain self-confidence, social skills, better teamwork and improved basketball skills. Most importantly, they feel recognized, included and appreciated.”
“Being part of such a high-quality program motivates them, strengthens their self-esteem and helps them grow both as players and as individuals,” he said.
Pierce College – A unified champion school
The Unified team is made up of Special Olympics athletes and students from Pierce, the American College of Greece.
The college is one of more than 300 Special Olympics Unified Champion Schools across Greece, promoting social inclusion through planned and implemented activities.
One of the students on the team is Giorgos Megalos, a 15-year-old from Marathon in Greece.
“It was great,” he said.
“My participation in the program has helped me understand that we all communicate differently and through training we find ways to work perfectly with everyone.
“The most important thing is that we create a Unified team consisting of people from different backgrounds.”
The college has been working with Special Olympics Hellas since 2018.
Project coordinator Panagiotis Kechagias said the collaboration with Panathinaikos AKTOR was enthusiastically embraced by the entire school.
“Working closely with professional coaches and being part of a respected basketball organization is incredibly motivating and inspiring for students,” he said.
“Initiatives like these are essential to helping young people develop an inclusive mindset. We are truly grateful for the opportunity to participate and we hope that programs like ‘One Team’ continue to grow so that even more students and Special Olympics athletes can benefit from this valuable experience.”
Special Olympics Hellas athletes are among the more than 25,000 basketball enthusiasts from more than 35 countries who enjoy the 22i.e edition of the Special Olympics European Basketball Week (EBW) from November 25 to December 3. The EBW 2025 activities are kindly supported by partners Toyota Motor Europe, UPS and ON, which focuses on United with refugees events.
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