Generation Amazing, a FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 legacy initiative, has long promoted the importance of using football for peace.
Qatar-based organisations and the UN have teamed up to support forcibly displaced children in various African nations through the “Football 4 Development Playbook” (F4DP) toolkit.
Announced on Wednesday, the toolkit is part of the collaboration between Qatar’s Generation Amazing Foundation, Education Above All Foundation (EAA) and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).
“This project aims to harness the transformative power of football, to empower refugee children and youth, and provide them with life-long skills that can help them and their local host communities,” said UN High Commissioner for Refugees, Filippo Grandi, at the signing in Geneva.
The Secretary General of the Supreme Committee for Delivery and Legacy and Chairman of the Generation Amazing Foundation, Hassan Al Thawadi, and the CEO of EAA, Fahad Al Sulaiti were also in attendance.
“Generation Amazing’s mission is to ensure that the heart and soul of football reaches people that need it the most. UNHCR and EAA are engaged with and assisting refugee communities around the world and we are pleased to contribute to this critical work through this partnership,” said Al Thawadi.
The F4DP is a guide that utilises football-themed physical games, activities and training drills in an effort to help disadvantaged children learn about teamwork, resilience, discipline and social integration.
“Although education is a human right, refugee communities host some of the largest out-of-school child populations”, said EAA’s Al Sulaiti.
According to a joint statement by the three entities, the project aims to support displaced populations in Chad, Kenya, Uganda and Rwanda. The initiative pays special focus on developing the children’s social inclusion, cohesion and wellbeing.
“Football (and sport) alone can’t change the world, but ensuring that its incredible power to inspire and unite is harnessed is a responsibility we must deliver on, especially in places where populations battle with innumerable obstacles and challenges,” added Al Thawadi.
The Generation Amazing Foundation plays a key role in preserving the 2022 FIFA World Cup’s lasting legacy, specifically in promoting and creating football for social change.
The entity is currently developing materials in collaboration with the UNHCR to further develop the existing Sports Protection toolkit.
Football for peace
Generation Amazing, a FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 legacy initiative, has long promoted the importance of using football for peace.
This was seen last year through important initiatives it launched in an effort to support Afghan evacuees in Qatar last year following the Taliban takeover of Kabul on 15 August.
The Gulf state had evacuated more than 70,000 Afghans and foreigners at the time.
The sporting organisation had set up a library for children located at the temporary compound while providing them with daily educational activities.
In May this year, Generation Amazing and the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) completed an 18-month project that promoted key values such as resilience among disadvantaged communities in Argentina, Iraq, Myanmar and Uganda.
Titled ‘Uniting Through the Power of Football’, the programme reached 1,400 direct beneficiaries and 19,000 total beneficiaries in 24 communities.
