In 2010, the Qatari authorities launched the ‘Generation Amazing’ programme, which today, after the World Cup final, has become a foundation to promote “the transformative power of this sport to improve the lives of people”, especially the new generations.
At present, this project has almost 150 schools in more than 35 countries -among which are Jordan, Oman, Lebanon, Nepal, India, Pakistan, Brazil, Syria, Rwanda or Qatar itself.with more than a million people involved between boys and girls, coaches, volunteers and ambassadors.
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The executive director of ‘Generation Amazing’ (‘Amazing Generation’ in English), Nasser Al-Khori, explained to EFE that, when the project started, there were “a big migratory problem in the region, many refugees from Syria, Jordan going to other places”, so they decided to build spaces in which football was a help tool.
THE LEGACY OF QATAR 2022
Over time, Al-Khori commented, an educational curriculum was developed aligned with the challenges set by the UN for sustainable development and the Qatar National Plan 2030which gave way to the consolidation of a foundation that wants to maintain its impact “beyond” the 2022 World Cup.
“We don’t focus on creating the next Messi, our objective is to train young leaders for their communities who, regardless of whether they end up playing soccer or not, are capable of promoting values”, he added.
The celebration of the soccer World Cup in this Middle Eastern country, the first in which this type of sporting event is held in the region, was not without controversy since, being a nation that defines itself as conservative, several organizations like Amnesty International or HRW denounced the lack of compliance with the rights of workers, women or the LGBTIQ+ community.
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Despite government reforms in recent years, these institutions consider the progress insufficient and demand greater transparency in its application.
Al-Khori wanted to point out that shows like ‘Generation Amazing’ follow that request, for example and in his own words, “to promote gender equality between boys and girls. since the participants are distributed 50%, and there are even more girls than boys benefiting from the initiative in some areas, which shows that “football has this ability to build bridges” on this issue.
Regarding the global nature of the program, he highlighted the association with CONCACAF (North American, Central American and Caribbean Football Confederation), to support the growth of solid lines of development in education through sport in that region.
“Our intention is take ‘Generation Amazing’ progress to the 2026 Men’s World Cup -which will be held in the United States, Mexico and Canada- and collaborate with the legacy of this event”, added the Qatari official.
INTERNATIONAL FOOTBALL AMBASSADORS
Finally, within this project is the ‘Goal 22’ initiative, which during this month brought together more than 300 international students in Doha, the capital of Qatar, to carry out soccer activities and educational workshops on subjects such as sustainability, diversity, leadership or mental health.
Al-Khori considered essential have the presence of young representatives from each of the 32 nations that competed in Qatar 2022 and contribute “to the legacy of many adults, educators and volunteers” in the field of knowledge of “innovative frameworks” of sport as development.
Among the prominent figures who participate as ambassadors of ‘Generation Amazing’ meet the former players Xavi Hernández, David Beckham, Samuel Eto’o, Cafú or Tim Cahill and soccer clubs like Roma (Italy) or Leeds United (England).
