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The Generation Amazing Foundation (GAF) the flagship human and social legacy program of the 2022 FIFA World Cup – Qatar and the Confederation of North, Central America, and Caribbean Association Football (CONCACAF), united last week at the CONCACAF HQ in Miami to celebrate the latest milestone in the joint football-for-development initiative for coaches, children, and youth across CONCACAF’s Member Associations.
The program launched last year at a children’s football event delivered by CONCACAF and Generation Amazing in Houston, Texas, around the 2021 CONCACAF Gold Cup. Around 150 children and local coaches joined CONCACAF educators, Generation Amazing legends, and others from the world of global football to announce this game-changing initiative.
The first ten CONCACAF Member Associations, which will roll-out year one of the program, participated in the virtual launch which included remarks by CONCACAF President, Victor Montagliani and the Confederation’s General Secretary, Philippe Moggio. Also in attendance were Member Association’s technical directors and heads of coaching, alongside the master instructors who will support the delivery” of the program across the CONCACAF region.
Participants also received an inspiring message from Supreme Committee, Secretary General, H.E. Hassan Al Thawadi “The partnership with CONCACAF truly reflects the ethos and ambitions of Generation Amazing. It’s faithful to our pledge of ensuring that the 2022 FIFA World Cup has a genuine global impact, and that this impact reaches individuals and communities most in need. I am certain our partnership will continue to improve lives and inspire through the power of football for a long time to come”.
The program will enable CONCACAF member associations to optimize their own grassroots coach education curriculums. It will ultimately provide more local coaches with the skills they need to deliver fun, safe, and engaging football sessions for young people in their communities. The co-developed coaches education package includes several courses, including, the importance of their coach’s role, safeguarding, sport for development and how to use football as a tool to support social change.
GAF’s Executive Director Nasser Al Khori said, “The joint program with CONCACAF will allow us to positively impact youth across the Caribbean, Central and North America. We’re pleased to have co-developed this with CONCACAF and are hopeful that we will see positive results from our football for development methodology. It’s an exciting opportunity for Generation Amazing as we ready ourselves for our transition to a foundation. As the leading Legacy initiative of the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022TM, our vision is to continue beyond the World Cup. Our relationship with CONCACAF will allow us to work closely in the region as it prepares for the FIFA World Cup 2026™. We will continue to positively impact people in Qatar, regionally, and globally.”
The lingering effects of the pandemic on the CONCACAF region has presented many challenges and setbacks in the year since the launch. However, bringing together the 10 CONCACAF Member Associations of the Year 1 Cohort, GA & CONCACAF Leadership, Government Representatives and program staff attests to the educational infrastructure that has been put in place thus far. Experts from both CONCACAF and GA have spent the last few months delivering training workshops for the coaches and volunteers in the Year 1 cohort.
Once the coaches have been educated with this curriculum, CONCACAF will implement a six-week football for social change program across local schools, academies, and clubs to benefit hundreds of girls and boys aged 8-12. We look forward to each Participating Member’s own football festival launch in the fall when the children are back from the break.
The event in Houston kicked-off what will be a four-year program, beginning with 11 Countries and expanding in successive phases, set to reach the entire region by 2025, ahead of the 2026 FIFA World Cup™ which will be hosted in the CONCACAF region by Canada, Mexico, and the United States. It will be delivered with each community’s strengths and challenges in mind, not a uniformed approach but one that relies heavily on collaboration between stakeholders to develop a tailored methodology.
CONCACAF’s Director of Development, Jason Roberts, said “This program is going to have lasting benefits in our region for years to come. It will support local coaches to ensure they deliver for young people in their communities. It will use the power of football to inspire social change across the region. We want to thank all the Member Associations and stakeholders who have supported the development of the program and we look forward to implementing it across the entire CONCACAF region.”
The program festival launches will culminate with the Generation Amazing Festival in Qatar around the World Cup, November 16 – 21st. CONCACAF will be delivering a workshop to local teenagers interested in making an impact through sport.
Concordia Americas Summit
The Generation Amazing Foundation B4 Development and CONCACAF also participated in the Concordia Americas Summit in Miami, Florida.
Nasser Al-Khori, Executive Director at Generation Amazing, along with Dr. Fadi Makki, Director of B4Development Foundation; Jason Roberts, Director of Development at CONCACAF; and CONCACAF Community Coach Mark Mungal, participated in a panel titled “FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022: A Legacy Beyond Qatar”.
The Legacy of the 2022 World Cup has been an integral part of the tournament since the bid’s inception. Through initiatives such as sustainability in construction, community engagement on stadiums and their legacy plans, Generation Amazing’s Human and Social Development programmes and B4 Development, the tournament has robust plans for the tournament and the future. This session, featuring health and sports leaders, explored the partnership between Generation Amazing, B4D and CONCACAF over the next four years, to ensure that the legacy of the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022™ impacts disenfranchised people around the world beyond the last kicked ball.
Nasser Al Khori, GAF’s Executive Direction, when asked about Generation Amazing’s plans for the next 5 years said “The work that we are about to start with CONCACAF is really exciting for us at Generation Amazing, I see this as a perfect springboard for our future ambitions. Generation Amazing will continue to function as a standalone foundation after the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022TM, and over the next few years we have plans to host festivals in North America in the lead up to the FIFA World Cup 2026TM.
Generation Amazing is active in countries around the world, including Qatar, India, Jordan, Lebanon, Iraq, Argentina, Myanmar, Nepal, Oman, Pakistan, the Philippines, Rwanda, and Uganda. The foundation operates in alignment with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, promoting inclusion and gender equality in its football for development program, and has positively impacted more than 750,000 people since its launch. It aims to exceed 1 million beneficiaries before the end of 2022.
Dr Fadi Makki of B4 Development said, “The Pioneering use of behavioral insights by Generation Amazing and CONCACAF in their sports for development programmes strengthens their evidence base and reinforces their effectiveness.”
