Minister of Public Health H E Dr Hanan Mohamed Al Kuwari, FIFA President Gianni Infantino, WHO Director-General, Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Goodwill Ambassador for Health and Sport, Didier Drogba, WHO Regional Director for the Eastern Mediterranean, Dr Ahmed Al Mandhari and Director at the Ministry of Public Health Dr. Mohamed bin Hamad Al Thani with other officials during an event following the first Steering Committee meeting of the ‘Healthy FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 - Creating Legacy for Sport and Health’ at Education City Stadium, yesterday. Pic: RAJAN VADAKKEMURIYIL
Doha: Qatar, the World Health Organization (WHO), and FIFA have joined hands to set a legacy through a range of health measures during the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022.
The measures include providing healthy food options inside stadiums and fan zones; enhance tobacco prevention in stadiums, fan zones and other areas; start collaborative agreements with countries to benchmark legacy-building activities; and exchange lessons learned with the International Olympic Committee for Paris 2024 and Milano Cortina 2026.
Heads of WHO, Qatar’s Ministry of Public Health (MoPH), FIFA, and the Supreme Committee for Delivery & Legacy (SC) also agreed on building on actions taken at the FIFA Arab Cup in 2021, strengthen health emergency preparedness and ensure maintenance of precautionary measures for containing infectious diseases, including COVID-19, to keep people safe and healthy. The measures were announced following a first Steering Committee meeting of the ‘Healthy FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 - Creating Legacy for Sport and Health’, a three-year partnership launched in 2021. It aims to undertake joint activities to place the promotion of healthy lives, health security and physical and mental wellbeing during Qatar 2022.
Speaking after the Steering Committee meeting held at the Education City Stadium, Minister of Public Health and Chair of the Steering Committee meeting, H E Dr Hanan Mohamed Al Kuwari, said, “The State of Qatar is proud to be the first country from the Middle East to host the FIFA World Cup. Our overall goal is not just to hold a successful sporting event, but to also show how football and sports in general can be drivers of better health for all people. This is why we are working so closely with WHO, FIFA and the Supreme Committee for Delivery & Legacy.”
To coincide with the meeting, a special event was held at the Education City Stadium, one of the eight World Cup venues. Children from schools and clubs played friendly matches as part of the event.
WHO Director-General, Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus; WHO Regional Director for the Eastern Mediterranean, Dr Ahmed Al Mandhari; FIFA President, Gianni Infantino; SC Secretary-General, Hassan Al Thawadi; WHO Goodwill Ambassador for Health and Sport, Didier Drogba; and Director of Public Health Department at MoPH, Dr. Mohamed bin Hamad Al Thani were present on the occasion. ‘Healthy FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 - Creating Legacy for Sport and Health’ is working to make Qatar 2022 not only the biggest, but also the safest World Cup ever.
“WHO is committed to working with the State of Qatar and FIFA to leverage the global power of football to help people lead the healthiest lives possible. This partnership will help to make the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 a role model for healthy sporting events,” said Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
FIFA President Gianni Infantino lauded the first of its kind partnership during a World Cup and emphasised that it is important the first FIFA World Cup in Middle East will be healthiest ever. “Here, we put our efforts together through this innovative partnership to promote health in a different way, using the power of football to communicate certain messages. We have been working together on different awareness campaigns and what better platform now than the FIFA World Cup for passing the Health for All message!” he said.
As part of the agreement, two SC legacy programmes, Generation Amazing and B4Development (B4D) will provide operational and technical collaboration on a range of projects.
“As FIFA World Cup hosts, Qatar has worked to underscore the importance of leaving sustainable and transformative social legacies that improve lives — in Qatar, within our region and around the world. This partnership is critical for us as we prepare for hosting the world at the end of this year in the context of the pandemic, which has affected so many lives around the world. We’re engaging in every effort along with local and international partners to ensure a healthy and safe FIFA World Cup,” said SC Secretary-General, Hassan Al Thawadi. “Together, our work with FIFA and WHO will add to our current efforts, including projects delivered by our legacy programmes such as Generation Amazing and B4Development, to ensure the first FIFA World Cup in our region serves as a benchmark for future mega-events across the globe,” he added.
