The Qatar Football Association (QFA) and Qatar Shell renewed their partnership on April 29 for another five years, continuing Qatar Shell’s position of lead partner as sponsor of the prestigious Amir Cup tournament and all categories of the Qatar national teams.
Qatar Shell has been sponsoring the Amir Cup for 14 consecutive years.
The partnership announcement took place at the QFA headquarters in Al Bidda Tower and the event was attended by QFA president Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa bin Ahmed al-Thani, and Qatar Shell Companies chairman and managing director Andrew Faulkner.
Commenting on the occasion, Sheikh Hamad said, “We are very happy to extend our partnership with Qatar Shell for a further five seasons for the sponsoring of our Qatar National Teams and Amir Cup. We thank Qatar Shell for their continued support of our national teams, especially since the Qatar National Teams have several milestones in the upcoming period. This announcement caps a great era of participation between the two organizations following the successes of the Koora Time initiative. Through working closely with Qatar Shell, we are constantly working together to inspire greater participation in Koora Time and football, thus achieving the goals of the initiative.”
Faulkner added, “Qatar Shell has long supported football in Qatar. We are delighted to continue our support of QFA and help build Qatar’s football future. Our partnership is a great opportunity to engage very closely with the fans and provide more opportunities and spaces to play football in a fun and non-competitive environment.
Koora Time, which has just wrapped up its sixth and most successful season, in line with the Qatar National Vision 2030, is an award-winning initiative designed to improve the health and well-being of Qatar’s youth through football.
With over 22 venues across Qatar, the initiative facilitates access to an additional 72 hours of physical activity and more opportunities and spaces to play football over its 18-week duration.
Since its launch in March 2013, the programme has benefited over 20,000 children across Qatar. This year’s programme again saw a significant reduction in Body Mass Index (BMI) by 80 percent of participants. BMI is a measure of body fat based on height and weight.
Koora Time has been the recipient of numerous awards including the 2014 and 2016 Sports Industry Award for Best CSR Initiative, the 2015 CSR Award Qatar for Best CSR Impact Initiative, the 2014, 2016 and 2017 AFC Dream of Asia Award in the area of social responsibility and the 2017 QFA Awards for Best CSR Programme.