The 15-week-long program will use football aiming to reduce obesity-related risks in children aged 10 to 15.
An initiative aimed at promoting a healthy lifestyle and reducing risks related to obesity in pre- and early teens in Qatar has been launched.
Negdar, which translates to “We can” in English, is a collaboration between Qatar Stars League (QSL), Generation Amazing Foundation and Internal Security Force (Lekhwiya) and is supported by Qatar’s Ministry of Public Health.
An agreement was signed between QSL’s Executive Director of Sales, Marketing and Communication Hassan Rabiah Al-Kuwari, Generation Amazing Foundation’s Events Management Director Jassim Mohammed Al-Ali and Lekhwiya’s Colonel Nawaf Abdullah Al-Maadadi on Tuesday to mark the official beginning of the programme on Tuesday.
The initiative will run for 15 weeks, aiming to encourage children aged 10 to 15 years to take up healthier and more active lifestyles through football.
“We seek to leverage the power and influence of football by connecting participants with their favourite stars to encourage and support them,” QSL’s Al-Kuwari said at the press conference organised to launch the initiative.
Negdar is a part of Qatar’s commitment to achieving global health goals in line with the United Nations’ 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, QSL later added in a statement.
Childhood obesity in Qatar remains a growing concern in Qatar. A 2024 report from the World Innovation Summit for Health claims the prevalence of obesity among those aged 5 to 14 to be 27.7 per cent. Some reports also claim the figures could be close to 50 per cent among the school-goers.
Physical activity and sports, hence, have remained central to the MoPH’s approach to tackling this concern. Negdar is yet another initiative that belongs to the pack.
“Negdar is not just a health initiative,” Generation Amazing Foundations’ Nasser Al-Khori said in a statement later. “It is a commitment to shaping a generation that values health, teamwork and personal growth.”
Lekhwiya will be involved in the initiative, lending its facilities as well as other relevant resources to the program.