GA announces Youth Ambassador programme to take young participants on a football for good journey

The Supreme Committee for Delivery & Legacy (SC)’s Generation Amazing Programme will launch its 2019 Youth Festival, taking place from the 15 to 18 December 2019, at the Qatar Foundation Oxygen Park. The occasion will be the kick-off event within a series of festivals leading to 2022 and will be the first such youth event held in the context of the FIFA Club World Cup finals.

170 youth participants from the international and local Ambassador Programmes, future Qatari leaders and local youth will be in attendance, broadening the reach of the social legacy programme and building new outreach within Qatar and globally.

“Generation Amazing is proud to announce the first edition of the Generation Amazing Youth Festival, which will take place at Qatar Foundation in Doha alongside the FIFA Club World Cup,” said Nasser Al Khori, Generation Amazing Programmes Director. “The GA Youth Festival will take our football for development programme’s most promising young participants on a football journey of a lifetime.”

“We have an exciting list of Partners who are joining us for the festival, which we will announce in due course,” added Al Khori. “In addition, we are proud to have our GA Partner Clubs – AS Roma, KAS Eupen, Leeds United and Sheffield F.C., the English FA, as well as PSG Academy in Doha, joining us with youth participants alongside Generation Amazing youth ambassadors for the festival. We are very excited about their contributions and looking forward to strengthening these relationships further.”

Key highlights of the festival include welcome activities, football for development workshops led by Youth Ambassadors, cultural performances and celebrity Ambassador activations for all youth in attendance.

Football for Good workshops will teach participants to build and design social development programmes around football infrastructure, event organisation and community outreach initiatives. The festival’s educational courses will take participants through the fundamental principles of an active citizenship through football and project management.

Youth Ambassadors Programme

GA will also launch a local Youth Ambassador programme with the aim of recruiting five new Ambassadors from Qatar in time for the Youth Festival.

By inspiring and engaging an amazing generation of young Qataris and residents, GA seeks to create a generation of supporters active long beyond the FIFA World Cup, united in their commitment to positive social change and leaving a legacy in line with the Qatar National Vision 2030.

Talented and committed young Qataris and residents selected as Youth Ambassadors will undergo a capacity building programme which will develop their skills, provide them with local and international exposure and the ability to convey GA values to local and international youth.

To be in with a chance of entering the Ambassador programme and being selected as a Youth Ambassador, entrants must be between the ages of 16 to 22, display an interest in social change and sport development and demonstrate basic leadership skills. Candidates can apply by completing an online application form which will be promoted on the Generation Amazing social media channels (@GA4Good).

GA Partner Clubs

Internationally in the wider footballing world, GA have launched key Football for Good partnerships with clubs AS Roma, KAS Eupen, Sheffield FC and Leeds United.

In September 2019, Generation Amazing teamed up with AS Roma in Italy for a global strategic partnership aimed at bringing invaluable life skills to those most in need through the power of football. AS Roma and Generation Amazing have signed a four-year partnership which will see them collaborate across legacy, education, digital media and CSR areas. An activation match which saw 50 GA kids take on three AS Roma legends Simone Perrotta, Vincent Candela and Alessio Scarchilli reached 90,000 views on YouTube alone.

“We are delighted to announce this partnership with Generation Amazing and the Supreme Committee for Delivery and Legacy,” said Mauro Baldissoni, AS Roma Vice President. “We have been very impressed by the incredible work Generation Amazing has been doing around the world and we believe that through this partnership, with Roma’s full support and expertise in youth coaching, we can use sport for good in Italy, Qatar, Nepal, Pakistan, Jordan, Lebanon, the Philippines, India and many more countries over the next four years.”

In the same month, GA began working together with Belgian side KAS Eupen in another four-year partnership in legacy, education, CSR and a special focus on bringing refugee communities in Eupen the Generation Amazing Football for development programme. In October, GA Youth Integration sessions at KAS Eupen grounds kicked off and saw a good turnout from local refugees who, despite not having mobile phones, turned up after hearing word about the sessions.

Meanwhile in Sheffield, the original home ground of football, GA executed the Train the Trainer programme on October 9, to provide a development pathway for youth from under-privileged and refugee communities in Sheffield and Leeds. Kick starting the value-in-kind partnerships GA signed with Sheffield FC and Leeds United in April 2019, the sessions taught coaches and refugee participants how to relay the Generation Amazing football for development programme to their own communities.

Local and regional programme updates

Generation Amazing, the Supreme Committee for Delivery & Legacy (SC)’s football for development programme, was initiated during Qatar’s successful bid for the FIFA World Cup 2022™ in 2010. It uses the power of sport to positively impact lives and create sustainable social development in communities. More than 500,000 beneficiaries have been reached to date through Generation Amazing in the Middle East and Asia. GA plans to reach another 500,000 more in its goal to positively impact 1 million people by 2022 through the power of football.

“As we reach our tenth year of our journey, we have continued to grow and expand the reach and impact of the programme,” said Mushtaq Al Waeli, Generation Amazing Executive Director. “This year we are creating an enhanced Community Club Model and Football for Development Coaching Certification as part of our transition to become Generation Amazing Foundation, which will continue post 2022 aiming to become a leader in the global football for development field.”

“Aligned to the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals and the Qatar National Vision 2030, we see sports in general and football in particular as a transformative tool and as a fundamental instrument in order to achieve socio-economic and wider development outcomes for refugee communities and disadvantaged youth globally.”

In Qatar, thanks to support from the Ministry of Education and Higher Education and the Qatar National Commission for Education, Culture and Science, the programme has already launched in 32 government schools and 18 international schools. The programme has also trained 50 PE teachers and 45 coaches from Generation Amazing’s strategic partner, Qatar Football Association.

Hissa Yousuf M Al Ali, Director of Training & Education Development at the Ministry of Education and Higher Education, said the aim is for the programme to reach 10,000 schoolchildren every year in Qatar.

“We are providing and facilitating resources for the Generation Amazing programme in schools. It’s a way of investing in each child to promote these values. By attaining these values, we are raising confident children,” said Al Ali, who attended the train the trainer workshop at Ahmed Mansour School.

Meanwhile in Muscat, the train the trainer sessions were organised by Generation Amazing partner Sabco Sports before the programme is rolled out across 20 schools in Oman.

Football coach Nabil Al Bulooshi committed to the programme when he realised its potential impact on youth across Oman.

“The one aspect that I love about Generation Amazing is that it teaches kids how to deal with people throughout their life. The life skills come before football and this is what we need.”

He added that he hopes the programme will continue to grow in the region and said that he aims to be one of the key Omani coaches over the coming years.

Follow @GA4Good on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook for the latest updates on Generation Amazing

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