Qatar Shell and Qatar Football Association (QFA) have wrapped up the seventh season of Koora Time with an awards ceremony that celebrated participants’ achievements and honoured the various stakeholders who contributed to the initiative’s success.
The efforts of 36 outstanding participants and six coaches were recognised during a ceremony held yesterday at Aspire Dome. The awards were presented by QFA general secretary Mansoor al-Ansari and Qatar Shell chairman and managing director Andrew Faulkner.
By celebrating their successes and achievements, Qatar Shell and QFA hope to encourage participants to remain committed to sports and a healthy lifestyle, which represents the initiative’s ultimate goal.
Commenting on the event, which is being held for the first time, Faulkner said, “This year’s awards ceremony aims to celebrate over seven years of vibrant success since the launch of the initiative in 2012.
“The record number of participants with an increased number of female participants, the addition of new venues, and the reported improvement in participants’ health indicators demonstrate that Koora Time is having a tangible impact and meeting its objectives,” he added.
Al-Ansari highlighted the importance of QFA’s collaboration with Qatar Shell and its significant contribution in raising awareness on the positive impact of sports in ensuring a healthy lifestyle.
“Our collaborative efforts have played a key role in advancing our shared objectives and accomplishing a great deal in a relatively short period,” al-Ansari noted.
Koora Time, created and designed by the Qatar Football Association (QFA) and Qatar Shell to improve the health and well-being of young people in Qatar through football, facilitates access to additional hours of physical activity and offers youth the opportunity to play football in a fun and non-competitive environment.
The latest edition attracted a weekly average of 3,500 participants who had access to 30 venues for football and sports-related activities, including Mesaieed, Dukhan and Al Shamal, compared to eight venues when Koora Time launched in 2012. The initiative ran weekly from October 2018 until March 2019, with major events taking place on Qatar National Day and National Sport Day.
The initiative’s undisputed success was evident in numbers, with a significant number of Koora Time participants having improved their Body Mass Index (BMI). The latest season further contributed to empowering women in Qatar, with girls accounting for half of participants.
Koora Time has benefited over 96,000 youth across Qatar since its launch. The initiative is based on FC Barcelona Foundation’s FutbolNet methodology, and provides children with an extra 72 hours of extra-curricular physical education per year. In recognition of its positive impact on the health of youth, Koora Time has won nine awards locally and internationally, including the Asian Football Confederation’s Dream of Asia Award in the area of social responsibility in 2014 and 2016.
The initiative is part of Qatar Shell’s Social Investment Strategy, which spans all of Qatar’s society, and tackles education, sport, health, research, economy, culture and the environment. Qatar Shell’s 2019-2021 strategy focuses on the human development and economic development pillars of the QNV 2030 and the new National Development Strategy 2018-2022.
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