Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammad bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai and Chairman, Dubai Sports Council (DSC) has announced a Dh1 million grant to the UAE national team scheduled to participate in the Special Olympics World Games 2015 to be held in the USA later this month.

The UAE squad of 115, including athletes and officials, is expected to travel to the Special Olympics World Games 2015 in Los Angeles on July 17. The UAE will be participating in 12 different sports for the Games scheduled to be held from July 21 to August 4.

The UAE Special Olympics Committee have roped in five major corporates including the National Bank of Abu Dhabi, Al Barari, Co-Op, Etisalat and the Abu Dhabi Sports Council to support the squad. However, since all the financial commitments for the strong UAE squad could not be met, Sheikh Hamdan decided to offer a grant of Dh1 million to meet additional expenses.

"Sheikh Hamdan is always pushing us in taking care of our special needs athletes. He has requested to donate Dh1 million to facilitate the expenses of our national team travelling to Los Angeles later this month,” Hassan Al Mazrouei, Tournament Director, Nad Al Sheba (NAS) Ramadan Sports Tournament told Gulf News.

The UAE has been participating in the Special Olympic World Games since 1999. "Since then, we have slowly but surely made our presence felt on the international stage. Today, the UAE is among the major challengers at the World Games. We are confident of returning from the USA with at least 40 medals,” Mohammad Fadhel Al Hameli said.