How Sheffield FC are embracing the 'Generation Amazing' Qatar World Cup 2022 legacy project

A mini-league is being considered by Qatar to help poor communities across Europe as part of the legacy of the 2022 tournament, which Doha is hosting.

A four-year project, called Generation Amazing, was signed by the tiny Gulf state with Sheffield FC and Leeds Utd last year.

It began with ‘train the trainer sessions’ at The Coach and Horses Ground to teach age groups ranging from Under-10s through to early teens and 16-19 year olds.

The schedule was disrupted by the Covid-19 pandemic but it is hoped an autumn re-start will be possible.

Nasser Al Khori, Generation Amazing’s director of programmes, said the Leeds and Sheffield youth advocates will join 1500 people around the world who have received in football for development training.

He said: ‘‘Generation Amazing is about using the World Cup to help refugees and the disadvantaged, to give young children a brighter future and inspire them to help themselves.

“We’ve been in touch with places like AS Roma, KAS Eupen in Belgium, Leeds United and Sheffield FC, and there’s an impetus to create a network so the teams can play each other.

“This is an idea which is being explored a bit further down the line after coronavirus, maybe in 2021 or 2022 during the year we host the World Cup when countries can come together and we can have a mini-World Cup for these refugees and disadvantaged children.”

Sheffield FC player coach Jamie Yates has been brought in to coach youngsters who sign up.

The 31-year-old former Rotherham United player said: “We’re teaching kids how to interact with other people and how to become a leader within themselves. One of our topics was: ‘Are leaders born or made?

“Some of the youngsters couldn’t speak English very well and that tested me as a coach. I had to find different ways to interact, which I really enjoyed – for me that’s what its’ all about.”

To start with the training sessions organised by Sheffield FC, the world’s oldest football club, will focus on Maltby, Dronfield and the city itself, while in Leeds the target areas will be Hunslet, Beeston and Chapeltown.

Chris Dolby, Sheffield FC’s Foundation director, has linked up Generation Amazing with Community Action, a group working to support refugees in the city.

He said: “This is all about the power of football and how it can impact lives. Generation Amazing is about upskilling coaches so they can go out into the community and help others.

“Qatar is very keen to secure something it leaves behind after the World Cup is done. Let’s spread the word that football is a great sport to play, and there are careers in sport.

“It’s about giving a platform to individuals for them to develop. It’s about re-engaging with young people in Sheffield, I’m thinking those who might have gone off the rails with education.”

Yates is being mentored by former Hull City academy coach, Michael Richardson, who was recruited by Qatar in 2016 to help roll out the Generation Amazing programme in 15 countries around the world.

Richardson said: “It’s all about using the game of football for personal development – how do they ask questions, how do they set challenges and teach people how to win and lose fairly. It’s about using sport to communicate social messages or facilitate social skill development.”

Richardson and Yates were joined by four refugees and a group of Sheffield FC players for sessions over three days at the club’s Coach and Horses ground in October.

This was followed by a trip to Doha by the Sheffield youngsters to attend workshops on social inclusion and gender equality.

One of those taking part was former England and Liverpool star, Michael Owen, who said: “There’s so many different skills you can take out of football and put into everyday life.

“There’s no better tool to make good of certain aspects of the world than football. It brings everybody together and it’s great that people are using it for positive change.”

Explaining how the programme will be rolled out Richardson added: “Jamie will go into, say, four different communities – two in Leeds and two in Sheffield - and deliver regular sessions to these people over 10 weeks.

“We would have 20-25 people at each location, four or five of whom might themselves be interested in coaching and setting up teams. Something we’d really like to see would be different locations evolving into regular participation and then wanting to compete with other communities in a league.”

The Sheffield and Leeds clubs are paying for the coaching and arranging venues while Qatar provides kit, the curriculum and initial training.

Plans for training sessions in schools had to be shelved due to the Covid-19 virus but could start after the summer holidays.

Qatar has built 30 pitches in poorer countries around the world, including refugees camps in Jordan and the slums of Mumbai.

The organisers say their programmes have already benefitted 500,000 people around the world and hope this will reach a million by the time the World Cup kicks off in 2022.

After the World Cup is over, Qatar plans to dismantle some of its eight stadiums and rebuild them in parts of the developing world.

Nasser al-Khori added: “One project can be the mini-league, another can be working with the club to see how we can deliver more sessions by going to schools, connecting with parents, by bringing them to the club to meet others, and being reintegrated in a more comfortable way.

“It’s not necessarily to play football professionally – more a development programme to help underprivileged youth and refugees in the UK.”