Volunteers: Qatar determined to host exceptional World Cup
Volunteers from various nationalities expressed their great pleasure in participating in the organisation of the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022. In exclusive statements to Qatar News Agency (QNA), they stressed that Qatar won the world’s trust and fulfilled all the promises it made to host a historic tournament, and is continuing to organise an exceptional edition.
A large number of volunteers work in the areas surrounding the eight stadiums to guide fans from all over the world in the best way to get inside the stadium and sit in their designated seats, in addition to their pivotal roles in the fan zones, accommodations and other World Cup sites. Alia, a Qatari volunteer, affirmed that she had sought throughout the past period to develop her capabilities through many theoretical and practical training programmes and interactive workshops that she followed under the supervision of the Supreme Committee for Delivery & Legacy (SC) and the FIFA.
Alia added that volunteering is a wonderful thing for her, and that she participated in several tournaments hosted by Doha, including world championships, especially the World Handball Championships in 2015, as well as the World Athletics Championships 2019. She added that her dream came true to participate in the World Cup.
Carla Hernandez, from Mexico, in a similar statement to QNA, expressed her great happiness with her participation in the World Cup 2022, adding that she participated in covering many sporting events, especially at the football level, especially European Champions League, a number of continental competitions in South America and the Concacaf Gold Cup.
In fact, volunteering for is a passion, and it must be the same for all people involved in this type of activity, and all volunteers should happily accept helping others, especially when participating in supporting major events, and contributing to the country’s efforts to host important tournaments, Hernandez said.
Mancilla Alves, a US volunteer, expressed his happiness to be in Qatar, stressing his sense of responsibility to contribute positively to this edition, and to provide support for a successful hosting in light of the great efforts made by Qatar to make this global football event a success.
Alves indicated that the experience of volunteering brought him many benefits, including building a wide network of relationships with volunteers from different countries. The Egyptian volunteer Ayman Mohamed did not hide that the volunteering experience opened a window for him to learn about many peoples’ traditions and cultures.
He expressed his happiness to be in this prominent football event. He added that this experience is associated with the acquisition and strengthening of many values, including acceptance of the other and building relationships based on mutual respect.
Ayman said that he benefited from many of the programmes, courses and workshops that he underwent prior to the World Cup, and gained the ability to deal with urgent problems and find appropriate solutions to them. As Mexican volunteer Ruiz David Martinez explained, the most important aspect of volunteering is participating in a world-class event such as the World Cup, which is a rare opportunity and a historic tournament that many wish to have the honour to participate in.
Spanish volunteer Maria Anastasia said that she is happy to be in the World Cup, after strenuous efforts she made in the past months to prepare for this event, as she underwent many training workshops, and was assigned many different tasks before settling in the volunteer media team.
She added the volunteer work experience helps build communication skills with others, contributes to enhancing co-operation between team members, and getting to know people from many cultures around the world.
FIFA Volunteer Programme during the World Cup 2022 provided the opportunity for 20,000 volunteers from all over the world to support the operational aspects during the organisation of the tournament.
Volunteers support many of the operational aspects of this global sporting event, including fan services, assistance to media representatives, and health, safety and security.
They represent 160 nationalities from all over the world, ranging in age from 18 to 77, all of whom have undergone a training programme since last September that spanned more than 300 training sessions, and more than 1,300 hours, which included interactive training programmes, workshops, and performance of tasks, as well as training in the World Cup stadiums, in co-ordination with the Supreme Committee for Delivery & Legacy, as well as the International Football Association.