After a whirlwind visit to Qatar last year during which he was given a brief glimpse of the country’s passion for sport, footballing legend Sir Geoff Hurst will return to Doha to experience the buzz around National Sport Day first-hand.
Sir Geoff will arrive in Doha on February 10, a day before the country celebrates National Sport Day.
In 1966, he scored the first ever and the only hat-trick so far in a World Cup final as England won the title at Wembley.
Since then, the British icon has been an ambassador for football across the globe. He makes no secret of the fact that he believes the only way forward for one of the most popular events in the sporting calendar is to take it to as many different countries as possible and is happy to see it come to Qatar.
Qatar is a shining example of how what is called “the beautiful game” can have a positive impact further afield than Europe and so, as a guest of international property and construction consultancy Gleeds, in 2019, Sir Geoff was invited to tour some of the exceptional venues under construction ahead of the first World Cup to be hosted by an Arab nation.
He was so impressed by the infrastructure, venues and enthusiasm of the organisers he couldn’t wait to come back and has chosen National Sport Day to make his return visit.
Having already taken in the Legacy Pavilion and the futuristic Khalifa International Stadium with which Gleeds was heavily involved, over the coming days Sir Geoff will also enjoy visits to the Qatar Olympic and Sports Museum, and the FIFA World Cup 2022 Stadium art installation. Of course, he won’t just be here to observe.
Getting into the spirit of National Sport Day, he’ll also be lacing up his own boots to act as official referee for a number of football games at Gleeds’ own specially staged tournament, which will see staff from a number of local construction businesses take each other on in a series of friendly matches as part of the company’s programme of employee-centred activities.
Sir Geoff said, “The notion of a National Sport Day is such a brilliant one and I am thrilled to be back in Qatar to experience it for myself. The enthusiasm for the day has been overwhelming and it’ll be great fun to take on the role of referee – although I can’t promise my decisions will please everyone, I know how competitive these tournaments can become with pride at stake! But essentially, sport is about bringing people together and creating a sense of community. It aims to instil excitement and passion, it’s about hard work and creativity, whilst fostering determination and resilience and it’s about individuality and teamwork. These are the qualities that you need inside and outside of the sporting arena if you are to succeed.”
With offices in a number of Arab nations, Gleeds understands the importance of sport across the Middle East and has fully embraced the ideology behind Qatar’s National Sport Day. As a business, it continues to play an integral part in the delivery of some of the venues that will enable the country and the wider region to achieve its sporting ambitions in the long term.
“Working with Gleeds over the past two years has demonstrated to me that they are up there with the best that the UK can offer in terms of construction management, playing their part in creating the backdrop for a World Cup tournament which will be like no other seen in my lifetime. Beyond that, they’re helping to deliver an incredible sporting infrastructure that will benefit Qatar for decades to come,” said Sir Geoff.


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