QF and GA expands Children’s Ability-friendly football programme

The Qatar Foundation (QF) and Generation Amazing (GA) have taken the initiative to expand their inclusive football programme making sure that it opens up opportunities in all sports for the differently abled children across Qatar.

The QF Ability-Friendly programme provides with chances for an affordable community sports classes to become more readily available to children and adults with special needs, including those with physical, mental, and visual impairments, deafness, and Autism, and also other learning challenges.

This month onwards, the programs will be offered at both Qatar Academies located in Al Khor and Al Wakra, both of which schools comes under QF’s Pre-University Education. Experienced coachers and tutors from both partners will attend the programs and the sessions will be taking place in a very safe, secured and supporting environment

Both QF and GA - the social legacy programme of the Supreme Committee for Delivery & Legacy has trained coaches to deliver inclusive classes for football. QF’s Ability Friendly Programme has been operating for over two years in Education City and has since offered hundreds of children and adults the opportunity to participate in regular football classes, just as their siblings would do in mainstream classes. Now, this focus on accessible sport would be extended to even more locations throughout Qatar.

QF’s Director of Community Engagement, Amy Johnson said that, “the QF Ability Friendly Programme with Generation Amazing is proud to train and upskill coaches to offer inclusive football opportunities for people with disabilities across Qatar. We look forward to continuing to grow our ability-friendly movement worldwide to ensure people of all abilities continue to have full access to high-quality sport.”

“This expansion continues to expand on everything the QF Ability Friendly program and Generation Amazing have already achieved, and we are extremely excited about the future,” she added.

Ryan Moignard, Senior ASD/Special Needs Football Specialist and Coach at QF, said: “Sport is universal, something for everyone to enjoy regardless of their age and ability. At QF, we are committed to ensuring that all members of society can feel the benefits that participating in community sport brings – reflecting the inclusive and accessible nature of our organization.”

Nasser Al Khori, Generation Amazing Programmes Director, said: “Generation Amazing works in close alignment with the UN Sustainable Development Goals, and inclusion – Sustainable Development Goal 10 – is a core Generation Amazing programme cause.

He further added: “We continuously develop innovative ways to empower and support children of all abilities with the football for development training we provide. This exciting training collaboration with Qatar Foundation will help us to achieve this objective across the country, and we are grateful for the excellent knowledge exchange and support of our strategic community entities on this journey.”

The overall cost of the new programme’s sessions will be QR30. To get more information and registration of the program will be taking place on March 21 and April 11 in both the Qatar Academies located in Al Khor and Al Wakra respectively.

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