The FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022™ legacy programme Generation Amazing has surpassed 725,000 beneficiaries.

The mark was reached during the week of the United Nations (UN) International Day of Sport for Development and Peace, which was established to highlight the importance of sport in achieving the UN Sustainable Development Goals.

In a special message on the day, H.E. Hassan Al Thawadi, Secretary General of the Supreme Committee for Delivery & Legacy (SC), said: “Every day, somewhere on this planet, sport is changing our world for the better. It's a universal language, transcending cultures and borders, and it possesses a unique power to unify and inspire.”

Speaking about Generation Amazing’s progress to-date, Al Thawadi added: “On this United Nations International Day of Sport for Development and Peace, we celebrate the success of our social and human legacy programme Generation Amazing. Driven by that unifying and inspiring mission, Generation Amazing has reached over 725,000 beneficiaries around the world through football for development programmes and community pitches.”

Meanwhile, at a UN panel held during the Economic and Social Council Youth Forum 2021, Generation Amazing Programmes Director, Nasser Al Khori, spoke about impactful ways to prevent violent extremism and rebuild societies using sport.

“Sport has that transformative power to break down barriers, to bring people together and to create a cohesive environment and society. Sport is an enabler.”

Discussing the ways in which Generation Amazing has put youth at the forefront of its programme, Al Khori added: “We have a youth advocacy programme, where we engage with youth in our community clubs and enroll them in capacity building opportunities and training sessions.

“We try to empower youth, we help them develop their life skills and communication skills. These skills show them that there is a different path; there's a future, there's hope, we try to inspire them as much as we can.”

Al Khori was joined on the panel by Sean Arbuthnot, from St Philip’s Centre, Lihini Weerasinghe, from the National Youth Services Council in Sri Lanka, modern pentathlete Aya Medany and Agnes Atwijukire from the Integrated Community Development Initiative.

Generation Amazing has also launched its new brand identity, inspired by its vision to pass on core life skills through sport and deliver social change globally. Influenced by the blue colour and shapes of the SC, it shows the way forward for Generation Amazing.

Having conducted active programming in more than 10 countries, Generation Amazing continues to work towards its objective of positively impacting 1 million lives through football for development outreach and education by 2022.

Follow @GA4Good on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook for more about Generation Amazing’s latest activities.