KINGSTON, Jamaica – Millions of fans across England will be roaring for the Three Lions as they face Italy in the finals of the European football championship at London’s Wembley Stadium on Sunday.

Outside of England, nearly 5,000 miles across the Atlantic, scores of residents of an inner city community in Jamaica will also be watching the game with pride, but for one of their own – England winger Raheem Sterling, the most influential member of the team during the finals run.

In Maverley, a tough neighbourhood in Kingston, the 26-year-old Sterling is a hero. He left the community for England when he was six, but has never turned his back on his birthplace, where he often visits and participates in various philanthropic efforts.

During an Observer Online visit to the community on Friday, the residents expressed excitement about Sunday’s finals and joy about Sterling’s performances throughout the tournament where he has recorded three goals and an assist in six matches so far.

No one was more proud than a food vendor, who gave his name only as “Porridge Man”. He told our news team that Sterling would often eat from his cart and he is immensely proud of him.

“You see anytime you see Sterling deh yah, a bear a dem porridge yah him beat. Baddest thing England ever see inuh. Raheem Sterling mash up the place,” the vendor said, stating that he hasn’t missed one of England’s matches.

“Me like how Raheem tek it to them, him pick up the leather and dribble it. You see when him do that, him have them (the opposing team) nervous. You see how him do Denmark the other day? A him create them two goals deh inuh,” Porridge Man commented, barely able to hold in his joy.

Speaking on England’s semifinals match against Denmark, in which Sterling earned a controversial penalty, he said, “every baller do thing like that man. Once you a play centre-forward you a go do everything fi create a goal and get a goal score. That’s why they have referee in a di game.”

Another resident, Jahvaughn Francis called Sterling’s performances “inspiring” and explained that “there’s a shared pride that flows around the community. It’s tangible; you can feel the sense of pride. You can feel the sense of belonging to know that he grew up on this road right here. We feel proud to know that it’s not just an England representative, but he also represents Jamaica.”

Francis and other community members who spoke with our news team said they were especially happy for Sterling because, according to them, he has long been treated unfairly by the British media. They universally cited Sterling’s race as a factor behind his uneasy relationship with the media and the public in England.

“Raheem Sterling’s performance has been one that has inspired all Jamaicans and people globally. It is safe to say that he has been the most influential player on this England team. However, we can’t go without saying that he has been targeted with racism. He has been targeted unfairly by the media and it’s not justified,” Francis said.

For Moses Treston, the treatment of Sterling is especially unjust because, he said, the footballer is one who is very caring and selfless on and off the field.

“Is a youth that during the match, from him cannot score him going to assist another person. Is a man like this weh will assist anyone. Is a people person,” Treston told Observer Online.

He added, “fi a man like that weh deh deh so, and a play fi the country and how them deal with him, you know. They deal with him like an outcast. Them just gravitate to him now knowing that him do this for the country but they don’t give him weh due to him, and the respect.”

Chiming in, Akeem Morris, another resident, said he admires Sterling for his grit and ability to overcome challenges, a sentiment expressed by other community members.

“Raheem Sterling has been very influential towards England’s national team. It has made me very proud to say someone from my community is showing his talent so profoundly,” Morris said, adding “because of his colour he has gotten a lot of critique, but as a black Jamaican he always pulls through.”