Held at the newly-launched Generation Amazing Community Club at Al Egla Training Facility in Lusail, the weekly sessions aim to teach key life skills through football, such as communication, organisation, teamwork, and leadership, while promoting inclusivity and gender equality.
Generation Amazing's Marketing & Communications Director Moza al-Mohannadi said the sessions are helping to leave a positive FIFA World Cup legacy in the country by empowering women and other target groups in society.
"The sessions are empowering women and helping them to learn skills that will help them in both their professional and personal lives," she said. "We are proud to offer these sessions to women who have played an active role in supporting the delivery of major events across the country. A number of the course leaders started out as participants in Generation Amazing sessions which is testament to the impact of this project," she added.
For her part, one of the course leaders, Yasmeen Shabsough, a Team Services Planning & Operations Coordinator at the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 said that football is a great way to learn co-operation, team spirit, and giving back to the community. There is no doubt that the skills that volunteers acquire from such activities will be important in the World Cup.
Shabsough, who previously played for the Jordan national football team, added that organising these activities is an important step on the way to hosting the Qatar 2022 World Cup, as the participants had previously been a part of many test events and will be integral to the success of the tournament later this year. Veronicah Mburu, one of the participants in the training activities, from Kenya, believes participating in the sessions will support her application to become a FIFA World Cup volunteer later this year.
"Its amazing to be part of a community of women who are just as passionate about football as I am. At the same time, this is a great opportunity to work on our self-development while getting to know each other. We're making friends for life," said Mburu. "There are numerous skills that I have learned, including leadership and teamwork. These are valuable assets for me as I am hoping to be a World Cup volunteer so I can help welcome the world to my second home in November and December," she added.
Launched by the SC, coinciding with the submission of Qatar's bid to host the 2022 World Cup, Generation Amazing is active in countries around the world, including Qatar, India, Jordan, Lebanon, Myanmar, Nepal, Oman, Pakistan, the Philippines, Rwanda, and Uganda. Through its football for development initiative in 2010, the foundation has positively impacted more than 750,000 people. It aims to exceed 1mn beneficiaries before the end of 2022.