The FIFA World Cup 2022 is not just about football, it is also about socially benefiting and engaging with local communities in Qatar.
highlight the country’s unique culture and provide engaging interactions that benefit local communities
Highlighting the country’s unique culture, and providing engaging interactions that benefit local communities, is a key focus area for the Supreme Committee for Delivery & Legacy (SC). The SC is responsible for the delivery of the required infrastructure and is spearheading Qatar’s planning and operations for the 2022 FIFA World Cup.
In a statement issued in this regard, the SC said: “Our aim is to provide a unique and rich experience for everyone in Qatar – whether they are a citizen, a resident or a visitor. We will show the world the wonders of local, Arab and Islamic culture. Our work will celebrate the cultural diversity of the local community.”
To achieve this goal, the SC has developed partnerships schemes with local communities and the cultural sector to assist them in the planning and delivery of the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022, as well as other tournaments and events.
One such plan is the Community Grant Scheme, which will support projects that complement the SC’s vision, values and objectives, and which make a positive difference to communities across Qatar, so as to ensure the Middle East’s first FIFA World Cup leaves a lasting social legacy in Qatar.
By welcoming the world to their neighborhood, communities will gain advanced facilities, a major economic boost and a front-row seat for the world’s favorite sporting event. Going beyond that, the SC offers grants to projects that can improve quality of life, health and well being in their neighborhoods.
This is part of the Supreme Committee’s wider community engagement efforts, which actively encourage Qatar’s citizens and expatriates to contribute ideas to FIFA World Cup 2022 planning, and the legacy the tournament will leave behind.
The SC statement noted that “grants of up to QAR30,000 are available to support groups and organizations, including expat associations, local environmental groups, recreational and social clubs, sporting clubs, arts groups and educational establishments”. The statement added that individuals with ideas that can help their neighbors were also welcome to submit applications.
Mohamed Qutub is one such individual who had a big idea — one that has since had a huge impact on a community that is integral to Qatar’s future. He played a key role in developing the Qatar Indian Association for Sports and Games which, with the help of an SC community grant, has improved the lives of many in the 500,000-plus Indian community in Qatar.
Adding his voice to the community engagement initiatives of Qatar, FIFA President Gianni Infantino said that the FIFA World Cup 2022 will bring people together and help dispel some of the misconceptions that still exist about the Middle East. The FIFA president was speaking by video to the sixth edition of the Future Investment Initiative (FII6) in Riyadh, in late October.
“This FIFA World Cup 2022 is already having a huge impact on the Middle East,” he said, adding that the tournament, which starts on 20 November and ends on December 18 would provide millions of people with the chance to discover a new part of the world.
“It is also an opportunity for Qatar and the whole Gulf region to present itself to the world in another light and get rid, once and for all, of some of the prejudice that sadly exists,” he said. “It will definitely help to get more mutual understanding between people of different cultures and backgrounds, I am convinced of that.”
Pointing out that FIFA had received a record 23 million ticket requests for the FIFA World Cup and that 3 million tickets had been sold, Gianni Infantino said, “We will have two million people coming from all over the world and showing the world that humanity can live in peace together.”
The FIFA President also offered support to the development of women’s football during his visit to Saudi Arabia. He described the progress of women’s football in Saudi Arabia as “absolutely fantastic” and pointed out that the Saudi women’s national team played its first-ever matches this year, and the kingdom also staged a national women’s league for the first time.
He added that FIFA would continue with its quest to make football truly global. “Football is not the exclusive property of a few, it is the world sport and we need to make it grow all over the world. We need to organize more competitions, more events all over the world… In some parts of the world there is maybe too much football, in other parts there is not enough top football,” said the FIFA President.