The newly constructed football stadium aims to provide a vital recreational space for displaced youths and communities in Aleppo’s Zoghra camp.
Qatar Charity (QC) has successfully completed the construction of a football stadium in the Zoghra refugee camp, situated in the countryside of Aleppo in northern Syria, in a bid to enhance mental well-being among displaced populations.
“This football field serves not just as a recreational space but also as a social nexus that fosters friendship, cooperation, and healthy competition,” Field coordinator for QC projects in Azaz, Hassan Al-Abed said.
The inauguration ceremony was attended by dignitaries including a representative from the Turkish Disaster Relief Agency and officials from Azaz’s local council.
Khaled Al-Yafei, director of the Emergency and Relief Department at QC said the charity “aims to provide a safe, healthy, and stimulating recreational environment for youth and children”.
The project is part of Qatar Charity’s ongoing initiatives under the framework of ‘FIFA Qatar 2022 for All: Sharing the Joy of Refugees and Displaced’. Last year, QC, in collaboration with its partners, supervised fan areas in refugee and displaced camps across multiple nations, including Syria, Jordan, Bangladesh, Somalia, Kenya, and Sudan.
Alaa Al-Mohammed, who directs the Zoghra camp, highlighted the importance of the new infrastructure.
“The significance of this playground is underscored by the complete absence of sports facilities within a 25km radius of the camp,” he explained.
Expressing gratitude and excitement, Adnan Al-Essa, the director of the Youth and Sports Office in the city of Jarabulus, noted, “The establishment of this stadium is an innovative idea that has garnered an overwhelmingly positive response from both the Zoghra camp residents and neighbouring communities. We hope that Qatar Charity will extend its commendable efforts to other key areas.”
The Assad regime has caused the world’s biggest refugee crisis since plunging the country into war in 2011. According to the UN, Syrians make up 6.5 million of 35.3 million refugees worldwide.
Qatar has long called for a political resolution in Syria and has consistently voiced its refusal to normalise with the Assad regime, noting such a move would be a betrayal of the Syrian people.
Last year, Qatar’s Amir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani called for resolving the root cause of the Syrian refugee crisis.
“Why do we accept that a leader massacres his people and expels millions of refugees from his country? As human beings, is this acceptable? What’s more, when we know that these refugees are going to come to us and that this will create problems?” Sheikh Tamim told France’s Le Point last year during his first press appearance since becoming the amir in 2013.
