Generation Amazing has signed a partnership agreement with the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) to jointly deliver football for development programmes to vulnerable youth in several countries across the Middle East, Asia, Africa and South America.

The announcement follows an official signing ceremony in Doha in March that was attended by SC Secretary General, H.E. Hassan Al Thawadi, and IFRC Secretary General, Jagan Chapagain. Also in attendance were representatives from Qatar’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Qatar Red Crescent.

The partnership will focus on empowering and educating vulnerable youth that are subjected to exclusion or violence. This includes working with refugees and displaced persons in Iraq, Myanmar, Uganda and Argentina as a means of inspiring and providing them with key life skills through football to lead healthy and active lifestyles, and to work within their communities to promote social inclusion.

“We very much look forward to this partnership with IFRC, the world’s largest humanitarian network, and the unique opportunity it presents to build robust evidence in support of the transformative power of football to improve the lives of vulnerable and at-risk youth in challenging contexts,” said Al Thawadi.

“Generation Amazing has built a meaningful history of impactful programming over the past ten years and we believe this partnership will further enhance our global programmes and play a key part in showing the role that sport plays in advancing the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals and Qatar National Vision 2030.”

Chapagain said: “We are so proud to be part of this programme and excited to see work starting on the ground. In this COVID year, when young people have been facing increased pressure on their mental health and major disruptions to their education, this kind of initiative could not be more important.”

The collaboration between Generation Amazing and the IFRC will begin with a pilot project involving the Generation Amazing football for development methodology and the IFRC’s Youth as Agents of Behavioural Change initiative.

Generation Amazing will run its football for development programme with participants in an effort to teach key life skills, such as communication and leadership. The project will include the establishment of football pitches and classrooms, with the attendees judged on the skills learnt both on the football pitch and in the classroom.

Generation Amazing Executive Director, Mushtaq Al Waeli, said: “As young participants navigate their leadership journey, they will learn powerful skills such as discipline, healthy living and teamwork. They will also engage with their local networks in meaningful ways. By doing so, they will create change in their schools, neighbourhoods and the broader community by implementing solutions in some of the most challenging contexts for refugees and underprivileged communities.”

The pilot project recognises that football has an exceptionally important role to play in bringing people together and promoting inclusion, health, leadership, discipline and teamwork. Both Generation Amazing and the IFRC further recognise that football can be a key catalyst for engaging young people and contributing towards development and peace.

The partnership will kick off in December 2020 and aims over the coming years to benefit thousands of young people in an effort to transform their personal situations and create an external ripple of change in their communities. This forms part of Generation Amazing’s mission to positively impact the lives of more than 1 million youth by 2022.

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