Macau casino concessionaire Sands China Ltd and the Macau Special Olympics (MSO) organised in August the “2025 MSO Sands China Cup – Greater Bay Area Badminton Invitational”, at the Macau East Asian Games Dome.
The event was staged in line with the 12th National Games for Persons with Disabilities and the 9th National Special Olympic Games, to be held across Guangdong, Hong Kong, and Macau in December, said the casino company in a press release.
The debut of the badminton tournament “attracted over 200 athletes from the three regions, who were assisted onsite by a group of 60 volunteers, including Sands Cares Ambassadors, as well as volunteers from the Scout Association of Macau, Macau Baptist College, and the MSO Ambassador programme,” it added.
The event was sponsored by Macau’s Sports Bureau, and supported by the Badminton Federation of Macau.
The tournament brought together top athletes from the Guangdong Special Olympics Badminton Team, Special Olympics Hong Kong Team, and Macau Special Olympics.
The one-day tournament ended with an awards ceremony, where 25 awards were presented, with prizes and trophies sponsored by Sands China.
The announcement cited Wilfred Wong Ying Wai, executive vice chairman of Sands China, as saying the company was “committed to serving the local community”.
He added: “For 11 years now, we have been privileged to support the Macau Special Olympics Healthy Athletes programme, as we continue to promote inclusion, sports and public health by providing vital resources and support to the MSO athletes.”
Sands China has supported the MSO Healthy Athletes programme since 2014, according to the update. The programme “has provided more than 7,000 health screenings to individuals with intellectual disabilities in Macau and funded follow-up medical care for more than 850 individuals,” it added.
The casino firm also said it recently held two community events to expand the MSO Healthy Athletes programme’s services into the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macau Greater Bay Area.
It conducted a series of health screenings for athletes who are set to participate in the National Special Olympic Games, aiming to “raise public awareness of the physical and mental health development of people with intellectual disabilities”.
In July, Sands China presented a MOP708,700 (US$88,000) donation to MSO, to be allocated to “three key areas”. The first is continuing the company’s funding of the Healthy Athletes programme, which aims to improve the health of people with intellectual disabilities and reduce relevant parenting stress.
The donation will also help the MSO Badminton Team prepare for the National Games for Persons with Disabilities and the National Special Olympics Games, to be held later this year. The financial contribution also helped sponsor the MSO Sands China Cup and funded a professional pre-competition training programme for participating badminton players.
