The Supreme Committee for Delivery and Legacy (SC)’s Generation Amazing (GA) programme has struck a chord with workers in Qatar.
A six-week pilot run recently concluded in Doha and the launch and rollout of the GA programme will take place in October this year and January 2017, respectively, according to a report on sc.qa
The curriculum for the workers has been devised by football-for-development coach and GA master coach Michael Richardson to make them part of an inclusive generation in Qatar.
Helping Richardson in the endeavour are 24 volunteer community coaches - mostly SC employees - with the social mix reflecting that of the workers, the report said.
Puru Bahadur, 21, flashed a smile when asked for his reasons behind joining the GA programme.
“I enjoy football,” the scaffolder from Nepal said.
“Many friends say that I physically resemble my idol, Lionel Messi. I want to learn new skills so that I can be good with the ball as well. The English coach demonstrated how I could trap and control the ball and I am going to practise hard now and improve my football.
“I can then impress my friends back home in Nepal, and make them say that I play like Messi. I am looking forward to the start of the actual programme.”
Like Bahadur, many other workers of different ages are looking forward to the launch of the programme. And their reasons differ, based on age and background.
For 52-year-old Bashir Tonikara, a building manager, the desire to improve inter-cultural communication was the main motivation to enrol.
“In my day-to-day work, I have to interact with people from different nations and cultural groups, and language can often become an obstacle in communicating with them,” said the Indian national.
“Football is about teamwork and a lot of it is to think and feel like the teammate, especially while passing and receiving a pass. A nod of the head or wink of the eye can do the trick as sometimes you just need a look for an understanding. The pilot helped me communicate well with fellow workers from places such as Africa and I will be part of the actual programme as well.”
For Ahmed Mumin, 53, a computer graphics artist, the main reason for joining the programme was maintaining physical fitness.
“It is quite fun, of course, and the break from the work routine is a welcome change. It is such a useful way to remain in top physical shape,” said Mumin, a Nigerian national.
“Another reason to join the SC programme was nostalgia - I have been following the World Cup on television for a long while now and participating in a football-for-development event by the 2022 World Cup local organisers enables me to go down memory lane.”
A parallel Generation Amazing programme, involving schoolchildren in Qatar, was piloted in conjunction with the workers’ programme.
The children’s curriculum seeks to pass on the messages of social inclusivity and healthy lifestyles through football and was delivered to 450 students during the pilot.
GA is the SC’s flagship CSR programme that uses the opportunity of Qatar hosting the 2022 FIFA World Cup and the power of football as a catalyst for social change to educate and empower the next generation in Qatar and across the world.
The programme has been operational in Nepal, Pakistan, Lebanon, Syria and Jordan, and is scheduled for launch this October following the conclusion of the pilot this week.