STAMFORD, Conn., Nov. 22, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Special Olympics and WWE (NYSE: WWE) today announced a multi-year extension of their global partnership to help create inclusion through sports. WWE will continue to support Special Olympics Unified Sports^®, which brings together people with and without intellectual disabilities on the same team. It was inspired by a simple principle: training together and playing together is a quick path to friendship and understanding.

WWE Superstars will continue to engage with Special Olympics athletes all around the globe through Unified Sports^®. Over the past few years, WWE Superstars have participated in Unified soccer in Italy, Unified flag football in Arizona, Unified bocce in Las Vegas, Unified soccer in UAE along with several other events, panels, and leadership conferences. Superstars have also reached out to Special Olympics athletes to encourage them in training and to congratulate them for achievements.

"WWE has been an incredible Global partner to our movement over the past 5 years and we are so excited to announce that we will continue our collective impact for years to come both domestically and around the world," said Special Olympics CEO Mary Davis. Davis added "When we think of how our partners have stepped up during this difficult time, WWE comes to mind. Not only are they supporting us financially, but they continue to help us find innovative ways to reach our athletes for example, through the launch of our online fitness series School of Strength, and talent engagement for our first-ever Gaming for Inclusion event. WWE also supported countless virtual engagements with Superstars that lifted up our athletes' spirits while in-person activities were cancelled."

"WWE's bond with Special Olympics has become one of the most fulfilling partnerships in our company's history," said WWE Chief Brand Officer Stephanie McMahon. "The determination of Special Olympics athletes to consistently persevere in life is truly an inspiration, and we look forward to supporting their mission for years to come."

The multi-year extension also includes support as a Gold Partner for the 2022 Special Olympics USA Games in Orlando, FL where the state-of-the-art WWE Performance Center is located and where many of the Superstars call home. The sport of Powerlifting will also be presented by WWE at the 2022 USA Games.

WWE's partnership with Special Olympics dates back to the 1995 World Games in New Haven, and more recently has included partnerships with the 2018 Special Olympics USA Games in Seattle, the 2019 Special Olympics World Games in Abu Dhabi and an on-going corporate partnership with Special Olympics Connecticut. Special Olympics was named 2018 Business Partner of the Year at the annual WWE Business Partner Summit.

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 more than six million athletes and Unified Sports partners in over 201 countries and territories and more than one million coaches and volunteers, Special Olympics delivers more than 30 Olympic-type sports and over 100,000 games and competitions in a typical year. Engage with us on: Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, LinkedIn and our blog on Medium. Learn more at www.SpecialOlympics.org.

About WWE

WWE, a publicly traded company (NYSE: WWE), is an integrated media organization and recognized leader in global entertainment. The Company consists of a portfolio of businesses that create and deliver original content 52 weeks a year to a global audience. WWE is committed to family-friendly entertainment on its television programming, pay-per-view, digital media and publishing platforms. WWE's TV-PG programming can be seen in more than 900 million homes worldwide in 28 languages through world-class distribution partners including NBCUniversal, FOX Sports, BT Sport, Sony India and Rogers. The award-winning WWE Network includes all live pay-per-views, scheduled programming and a massive video-on-demand library and is currently available in more than 180 countries. In the United States, NBCUniversal's streaming service, Peacock, is the exclusive home to WWE Network.

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SOURCE Special Olympics