Xavi surprises workers with tickets for Barca game

When Justin Santiago, a 36-year-old F.C. Barcelona fan from Chennai in India, shook hands with a FIFA World Cup winner in the recreation room of his accommodation at Labour City this weekend, he couldn’t quite believe who was standing across from him. Xavi Hernández, the former Barcelona midfielder who is an ambassador for the Generation Amazing programme of the Supreme Committee for Delivery & Legacy (SC), passed by for an hour-long visit to speak to workers about their involvement in the Generation Amazing Qatar programme, answer their questions about his vast experience in world football, and invite the workers present to join him for the Barcelona v Al Ahli match on Tuesday in Doha.“I love football, and I’m a huge fan of Barcelona because they have the best players, like Lionel Messi. I’ve seen so many matches of Xavi on TV, winning the World Cup, the Spanish league and the Champions League, so it was an incredible surprise to see him in person,” Santiago said after the Al Sadd captain stopped by for an unannounced visit. “Everybody in the room was extremely excited, and it was very impressive to meet a player who is also such a nice person. He was very cool and easy to speak to, and had a smile for everyone. On top of that, we were all personally invited by him to watch the match, which is a fantastic opportunity. I expect a 5-0 win for Barcelona.” For Santiago, the main benefits of the football for development project have been felt on the pitch at Labour City, where the Generation Amazing programme is organised in conjunction with NAAAS Group. The programme is also delivered by QDVC and Youth Club in Al Khor, with a total of 570 workers benefiting on a weekly basis from the coaching delivered across both sites. For Xavi, the visit to Labour City brought back memories of the first time he was given the present of a ticket to watch a football match live in the stadium, at his beloved Nou Camp in Barcelona. “I remember the first time I was given tickets to go to a match, I was five or six years old and it was to attend a Barcelona game,” Xavi told www.sc.qa. “We all love football in our family, and we went to a Gamper trophy with my father and grandfather, it was a great excitement that I felt before the game. “So it was a pleasure to give tickets to the workers involved in the Generation Amazing Qatar programme for the Barcelona v Al Ahli game. It was an honour for me to give them these tickets and surprise them in this way.” One of the greatest midfielders to have ever played the game, Xavi explained the importance of the project in giving back to those who are helping to build the country which will host the 2022 FIFA World Cup. “The Generation Amazing project here is about reaching out to people in Qatar who are helping to build this country,” he explained. “Through the power of football, we are helping to take care of them and make them happy here. We have been to their accommodations to surprise them, it is about giving them our affection and care. I’m really enjoying my work on this fantastic project. It’s even more exciting for them because it is Barcelona coming here, which for me is the best team in the world.” According to Isabel Gultresa, CSR Senior Manager at the SC, the visit was another important step on the journey the Generation Amazing programme has embarked on in Qatar. She said: “It is very important for us to show to the participants of our projects how much we are encompassing football in their development, and taking them to a live football match is something we thought would be very special and relevant. We are taking the important moment of our ambassador’s former team visiting Qatar to celebrate what the power of football can do.” After being welcomed to a rapturous round of applause from all those present, Xavi spoke about his involvement with Generation Amazing, and congratulated the participants for their work so far. “The Generation Amazing programme is very good, it has helped me a lot,” Santiago continued. “Through football games and drills, it is helping teach the values of team-work, and we have good coaches who train us every weekend. We’ve been playing football a long time, but this programme has really helped us to improve through teamwork, listening and passing.” Xavi was quick to get the workers involved in the session at Labour City, opening the floor to a whole host of questions which ranged from ‘who is the best, Messi or Ronaldo?’ to ‘will you also be playing on Tuesday?’. Having answered them all, the four-time UEFA Champions League winner posed for a picture with everyone present, and then handed out the match tickets to another round of applause.