Reggae singer Jesse Royal put his money where his mouth is after giving $200,000 to the Special Olympics Jamaica (SOJ) men and Caribbean women’s teams to kick-start their journey to the Unified Football Cup in Detroit, United States, in just over a month’s time.

“Think big and dream big and believe in your dreams and understand that there will never be another you,” Jesse Royal said as he spoke to the footballers during the presentation at the Institute of Sports offices on Thursday.

“You’re going to shine so much brighter than you could ever imagine as well as you can help inspire other people in whatever they are doing wherever they are,” he added.

The roots-reggae musician, whose hit songs include Modern Day Judas, Generation, and Lion Order told the Jamaica Observer that the decision to support the movement was a straightforward one.

“It’s excellent to be able to lend my support to an organisation that’s already doing so much. The important thing is just to match the effort and energy I see going on around here.

“We say ‘Out of many, one people’ so we just really have to start activate that type of mindset and make that the norm. The athletes continue to make us proud, so for me it’s easy,” he said.

Coleridge “Roy” Howell, the SOJ executive director, said the support provides extra boost for athletes to do well on another global stage.

“We welcome a genuine partner for Special Olympics Jamaica and grateful for the gesture. We hope this partnership can continue as we strive to accomplish even more for our athletes and for the country,” he said.

Jamaica had lost 0-1 to France in the division two final of the inaugural Unified Football Cup in Chicago, Illinois, in 2018.

The July 31 to August 6 tournament in the state of Michigan is to feature over 300 footballers from over 20 nations. The competition among special athletes and their unified partners is expected to display how sport builds, empowers, and shapes a diverse community of people of various abilities.

The unified sports programme, a focus of the Special Olympics movement, combines people with intellectual disabilities and those without disabilities in training and competition.

Through sport activities and competition, the Special Olympics International movement aims to break down barriers that exclude people with intellectual disabilities, such as autism and Down syndrome, from mainstream society.

The disabilities can either be acquired or genetic, and can also include cases of cerebral palsy, traumatic brain injury, and some cases of developmental delay.

— Sanjay Myers