Inaugural 2026 World Abilitysport Guttmann Games heading to Finland

On 22nd November, by unanimous decision, the World Abilitysport Governing Board awarded the 2026 World Abilitysport Guttmann Games to Pajulahti Olympic and Paralympic Training Centre in Finland.

The venue, which is the country’s Paralympic training centre and located in the picturesque Nastola in Lahti boasts facilities such as an ice rink, two football pitches, beach volley courts, six tennis courts and a climbing wall which impressed on the site visit.

Harry Cootes, Head of Sport said, ‘The site visit was a huge success. The Centre is a ready-made Games venue with a wide range of sport facilities, onsite accommodation with great accessibility. The team at Pajulahti Olympic & Paralympic Training Center, led by Laura Kittelä, have a wealth of experience in organising and hosting events and we are delighted to work with them towards the Games.”

The Guttmann Games, named in honour of our founder and father of the Paralympic Movement, Sir Ludwig Guttmann, is exclusively for sports and disciplines not on the Paralympic Games programme. The Games are designed to promote, grow and develop upcoming and new sports in the Games’ multi-sport environment. The sports under discussion for inclusion are amputee football, Para dance sport, beach ParaVolley, open water swimming and CP football.

The Centre, which held the European Para Youth Games in 2019 and 2022 and will also welcome the Powerchair Hockey World Championships in 2026, has the full support of World Abilitysport member, NPC Finland.

The provisional dates for the Guttmann Games are late August with entries opening in the spring.

Event and Development Director, Laura Kittelä said, “It is an honor to host the inaugural Guttmann Games. As Finland’s only Paralympic Training Center, para sports and events are strategically important to us. We are thrilled to collaborate with World Ability Sport to develop this competition concept further and create lifelong memories for the athletes.”