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Latest News International News North & East Environment Social Love Horse Racing World Champs Commonwealth Games FIFA World Cup 2022 Entertainment Art & Culture Tuesday Style Food Awards JOL Takes Style Out Design Week JA Black Friday Relationships Classifieds Motor Vehicles Place an Ad Jobs & Careers Study Centre Jnr Study Centre Advertorial Supplements Latest News International News North & East Environment Social Love Horse Racing World Champs Commonwealth Games FIFA World Cup 2022 Entertainment Art & Culture Tuesday Style Food Awards JOL Takes Style Out Design Week JA Black Friday Relationships Classifieds Motor Vehicles Place an Ad Jobs & Careers Study Centre Jnr Study Centre Advertorial Supplements International News Food Awards Entertainment World Champs Career & Education Environment Advertorial Supplements Classifieds Design Week From left: Americas Paralympic Committee (AmPC) President Julio Cesar Avila, treasurer German Perez, Executive Director Michele Formonte and Vice-President Christopher Samuda at the AmPC-Puma signing in Chile on October 28, 2025 . Athletics, Sports Daniel Blake | Sports Writer | blaked@jamaicaobserver.com November 11, 2025 Samuda confident of regional paralympic growth due to new Puma deal Jamaica’s para-athletes are expected to see increased benefits in the coming years after German sports apparel giants Puma signed a sponsorship deal with the Americas Paralympic Committee (AmPC). It comes days after Jamaica Paralympic Association (JPA) President Christopher Samuda was elected vice-president of the region’s paralympic governing body. The agreement will see Puma providing financial and technical assistance to help develop several para sports initiatives in the Caribbean, North America and South America. Samuda said, “It is a coalescence of sporting values and culture that has gone beyond the commercialisation of brands and money and has found its currency and integrity in the aspirations of para athletes who continue to ignite humanity with defining feats.” Puma Latin America General Manager Carlos Laje says the sponsorship is critical in uplifting the paralympic movement in the region. Puma will also serve as prime sponsor for AmPC governed events Para Panamerican Games, which takes place in the summer of 2027 in Lima, Peru with a number of Jamaican athletes set to participate. “Ownership of the games vests in us custody of the aspirations of thousands of sportsmen and women and youth which my executive board colleagues and I recognise is a privilege that comes with a fiduciary obligation to create value and deliver results for them — the human capital of sport,” Samuda, who also serves as president of the Jamaica Olympic Association, says he intends to put the athletes first after being elected AmPC vice-president, ahead of Canada Paralympic Committee President Marc-Andre Fabien. “It is far from being a personal victory but a commitment to the athletes of the Caribbean and Americas whom we serve and whose interest and welfare are paramount in the regional sporting construct,” said Samuda. Earlier this year, the Samuda led JPA secured a partnership with the AmPC and the Development Bank of Latin America and the Caribbean to create a paralympic high performance academy in Jamaica, the first of its kind in the Caribbean. The JPA also hosted its first Grassroots Para Sport Festival last month where dozens of Jamaica’s para-athletes showcased their talents in track and field, powerflifting, archery and fencing. Samuda is hoping that there’s greater private and public investment in local parasports going forward. “It is part of our educational campaign for the private sector and those financial backers who would want to not only give us a cheque for particular events but also to come as a partner, a long-term partner in the Paralympic movement,” he said. “It will just not simply be for branding value, but we want them to see themselves as part of this progression in para-sports development and also to bring on board their own ideas as to how best we can further deepen the impact of para-sports in Jamaica.” Christopher Samuda (right), president of Jamaica Paralympic Association, speaks to para-athletes Kerona Salmon (centre), Theodore Thomas (back left), and Acee Green (front left), at the rededication of the Paralympic Flame at Norman Manley International Airport in Kingston on March 11, 2024. (Photo: Garfield Robinson) Jamaican paralympic athlete Shane Hudson. {"xml":"xml"}{"jamaica-observer":"Jamaica Observer"} 0 Comments · Make a comment ALSO ON JAMAICA OBSERVER Latest News, News Firearm seized in Riversdale, St Catherine November 10, 2025 ST CATHERINE, Jamaica — The police have recovered a 9mm pistol and an affixed magazine during an operation conducted in the Lodge district of Riversda... {"jamaica-observer":"Jamaica Observer"} Latest News, News US pledges additional US$10 million for Jamaica’s hurricane recovery November 10, 2025 KINGSTON, Jamaica — The United States (US) has pledged an additional US$10 million to support Jamaica’s recovery from the devastating impact of Hurric... {"jamaica-observer":"Jamaica Observer"} Latest News, News WATCH: Taxi operators patch potholes on Red Hills Road November 10, 2025 KINGSTON, Jamaica — A group of taxi operators on Sunday came together to patch several potholes in the vicinity of Calabar High School and Lees Food F... {"jamaica-observer":"Jamaica Observer"} Latest News, News Chef charged with attempted murder November 10, 2025 KINGSTON, Jamaica — A 35-year-old chef has been slapped with several charges including attempted murder following an incident on Wellington Street in ... {"jamaica-observer":"Jamaica Observer"} Latest News, News UPDATE: Two killed in plane crash en route to Jamaica November 10, 2025 Two people were killed on Monday when a plane crashed in Florida while on its way to Jamaica for hurricane relief efforts. 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