A Local Network Redefining Everyday Inclusion Through Sport

Goals UAE Network, founded by a parent in 2014, trains coaches in Universal Design so people with and without disabilities can play together. It runs weekly mixed-ability sessions across Abu Dhabi, is free to families, and delivered 1,740 training hours in 2025.

Goals UAE is a community-driven social enterprise embedding inclusive sports into mainstream academies and public venues. Founded in 2014 and relaunched in 2024, it partners with sports academies, certified coaches, and student volunteers. Sessions for football, swimming, cycling, and athletics are adapted so that they are inclusive for all participants, and are sustained by in-kind support. In 2025 there were six weekly training sessions in four sports and 120+ participants with disabilities attending regularly, supported by 75 trained volunteers.

Problems Targeted

Children and adults with disabilities face exclusion from regular sports due to segregated services, inconsistent access, and a lack of inclusive coaching.

Solution, Innovation and Impact

Founded by a parent in 2014, Goals UAE evolved into the UAE’s first disability triathlon team and contributed to five Special Olympics World Games. Its relaunch in 2024 was shaped by national-level experience and a curated partnership model. Rather than creating specialized centres, the programme trains coaches in Universal Design, enabling mixed-ability sports. Coaches adapt rules, tools, and teaching styles so participants with and without disabilities can train together safely and meaningfully. A community survey guided the selection of sports and venues. Volunteers with disabilities build trust through peer connection. Regular caregiver meetings and focus groups keep inclusion and belonging at the core. Goals UAE operates in multiple urban districts of Abu Dhabi, delivering weekly sessions using facilities, coaching, and equipment supplied by partner academies and strategic alliances. Sessions are open to children, youth, and adults with developmental, intellectual, hearing, physical, and learning disabilities and are free to users, thanks to the in-kind support model. Goals UAE sessions are all mixed gender, attended by girls and boys. Goals UAE has delivered over 1,700 athlete training hours in 2025, engaged 75 volunteers from school partnerships, held 12 inclusive community events, and catalysed several local academies to launch their own inclusion efforts.

Funding, Outlook and Transferability

Goals UAE has no revenue stream, being financed through in-kind support from academies and local strategic partners, and through the voluntary work of the founding team. There are no costs for participating families. The organization’s cost-efficient model, bilingual training resources, and Universal Design principles make it highly transferable to other cities, with plans for regional expansion and new modules in development. (#ZeroCall26)

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