Qatar 2022
The Supreme Committee for Delivery & Legacy (SC) has continued to engage thousands of people in Qatar as the country’s FIFA World Cup™ preparations continue. Despite the ongoing pandemic, a variety of programmes and initiatives run by the SC’s Community Engagement Division have thrived in 2020 as Qatar aims to involve everyone on its World Cup journey.
During 2020, the SC increased its number of agreements with local community groups to 53. As part of these agreements, groups are given access to the SC’s Community Grant Scheme. Eight projects received funds in the last year as the SC helps to boost local projects and ensure their sustainability.
Community Engagement also focused its efforts on volunteering during 2020. The Volunteer Programme, established in 2018, already contains a database of more than 260,000 people who are interested in supporting the delivery of both Qatar 2022 and SC events. Many thousands of volunteers have supported a vast number of SC events in recent months, including the inauguration of Ahmad Bin Ali Stadium and Qatar’s hosting of AFC Champions League matches.
In addition, Community Engagement held a webinar in November to share details about the Volunteer Programme with community leaders. Then on 5 December – International Volunteer Day – an event was held at Khalifa International Stadium to pay tribute to the thousands of people who have supported SC events in recent years. During the event, which was attended by several SC ambassadors, 60 lucky volunteers got the chance to play football on the pitch during a four-team tournament.
The SC has also continued to prepare for the most accessible FIFA World Cup in tournament history through its Accessibility Forum. In 2020, visits to Education City and Ahmad Bin Ali stadiums were organised for forum members in order to test facilities and provide feedback.
Community Engagement has also focused on engaging local students through a range of workshops and seminars at schools and universities in 2020. Lectures were held on a number of topics, including the Qatar 2022 cultural experience and Generation Amazing – one of the SC’s legacy programmes.
A key highlight of the year for Community Engagement took place on Qatar National Day during the inauguration of Ahmad Bin Ali Stadium in Al Rayyan. As part of the event, Community Engagement organised a series of fan activations and cultural experiences for the benefit of spectators.
Khaled Al Suwaidi, Stakeholder Relations Senior Manager, said: “Despite the pandemic, it’s been a very busy year, culminating with the inauguration of Ahmad Bin Ali Stadium. The Fan Zone activations were very well received and it was incredibly fulfilling to see these activities being enjoyed by fans of all ages during the event. It was the perfect end to what has been a difficult year for everyone.”
Al Suwaidi continued: “We will continue to engage with everyone in Qatar as we get ever closer to the first World Cup in our region. We believe every local resident is an ambassador for our tournament and will benefit from Qatar’s hosting of the tournament.”