QNB headquarters.
Doha: As part of its role as the Official Middle East and Africa Supporter of the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022, QNB Group has unveiled its preparations for the World Cup and highlighted its main events, initiatives, products, and services planned to take place as the country approaches the long-awaited event hosted for the first time in the Middle East.
Abdulla Mubarak Al Khalifa, Group Chief Executive Officer at QNB, emphasised on the importance of the Group’s role as the official Middle East and Africa supporter of the World Cup. He said: “The Bank was an official supporter of the 2010 Qatari Bid Committee. Since then, QNB Group has been actively working on instilling sports as a culture locally, by highlighting its brand as a leading financial Qatari institution by supporting many local and international sports events. Today, we witness the outcome of our efforts over the years and consolidate our social responsibilities towards this distinguished football event.”
Al Khalifa further affirmed the efforts made by the Group during this period to provide a new and unique experience that will enthrall visitors coming from all over the world. He stressed “the strength and ability of our globally recognised national institutions to create change and development in the largest sporting event on a local and international level. This experience benefits our institution and our beloved country Qatar, especially as this tournament will be a milestone for Qatar and the region”.
The group has formed a special committee designated to organise all FIFA operations during the tournament, to deliver an exceptional experience. QNB’s preparations for the tournament were tested during the FIFA Arab Cup 2021, and the committee is currently working on several campaigns to further emphasise the tournament’s uniqueness through its local and international branches.
QNB Group CEO Abdulla Mubarak Al Khalifa added: “We launched several initiatives and activities in many of our branches and subsidiaries like Egypt, Tunisia, Sudan, Indonesia, where each of them will have a unique FIFA designed interior and exterior.”
Along its brand exposure within the region, QNB Group has also shared details of its international brand exposure, which included its screens and welcome banners in locations like Geneva International Airport and Heathrow International Airport.
Abdulla Mubarak Al Khalifa, Group Chief Executive Officer, QNB
The group CEO emphasised that QNB will have a unique imprint this year and a strong presence through collaborating with various institutions and organisations to carry out intensive promotional campaigns across the country, as an unprecedented large number of visitors is expected during the tournament. Areas such as Lusail City, which will host the final match, are likely to attract a significant number of spectators around fan zones.
“This has pushed us to intensify our efforts to highlight our brand in some of the liveliest locations such as QNB Lusail Metro Station, and Place Vendome Mall, the latest luxury shopping mall in Qatar that is expected to attract a large number of football fans,” he added.
He also revealed that a unique partnership with social media and international celebrities will be announced soon, which highlights a new approach for the group with a different content direction focused on promoting the tournament and related events.
Al Khalifa also emphasised that the group has focused on supporting the country’s efforts dedicated towards hosting the tournament, saying: “We have taken upon ourselves the responsibility of supporting the continuous efforts taken by the country and ensuring that its success in hosting this event is reached by all measures. We will dedicate all our efforts towards the success and legacy of this prestigious event, and ensure that history will remember it in a way that reflects the Qatari culture, institutions, and identity, all of which will be prominent to everyone.”
QNB Group has also collaborated with the Supreme Committee for Delivery and Legacy to incorporate the fan card app “Hayya” within QNB ATMs to provide an easier and more convenient experience for the users.
Al Khalifa also unveiled several details of the group’s preparations and its participation and presence in the big event. He stated that as part of the group’s activities, QNB will participate in the FIFA fan zones, where large numbers of spectators will be gathering, where the Group will participate in several activities, services, and live match broadcasts for fans to watch in an atmosphere full of excitement.
FIFA Fan Festival
He added that the QNB Group has started its preparations for the FIFA Fan Festival, which will host several special and unique activities, and is anticipated to become a major attraction for all visitors and spectators. Activities will include side events, live match screenings, and other preparations designed to suit customers and non-customers. “The FIFA fan festivals will be designed in a very futuristic and unique way, making it exceptionally memorable for all. We will put all our efforts into making this version remarkable for everyone,” added Al Khalifa.
He also highlighted the recent initiatives aimed at including everyone within the experience as part of its Corporate Social Responsibility. This included its recent partnership with Al Shafallah Center for Persons with Disability, which aims at providing them with the chance to attend the World Cup matches along with all the fans in an effort to promote inclusivity during the tournament.
He added that this comes as part of the group’s efforts towards social and humanitarian initiatives, where individuals with special needs will be offered the chance to attend some of the most remarkable matches all while ensuring their safety and comfort.
A friendly match for the blind
The Group’s CEO also highlighted the collaboration with the Qatar Social and Cultural Center for the Blind to organise a friendly football match on World White Cane Day as an encouraging initiative aimed at supporting inclusivity for all.
In regards to QNB staff involvement, the GCEO said: “We also focused on making the experience unique for our staff to be a part of the long-awaited event.
We worked side-by-side with our branches and subsidiaries within the region and beyond on several FIFA projects and initiatives, dedicated for staff, customers, and football fans.”
He reiterated that all of these initiatives will highlight QNB’s presence as a leading financial institution, and will mark a valuable addition to the country’s events, inviting all football fans to enjoy the group’s events which will be held in several areas.
Promotional campaigns
Talking about the services and advertising campaigns, Al Khalifa said: “The Group has laid out and dedicated a full plan over the years aimed at developing its technological services to better serve the mass of visitors in a distinctive and seamless way during the tournament. We strive to achieve a successful edition of the FIFA World Cup, which is why we have dedicated all our services, digital products and our workforce to ensure that we mark our presence with excellence throughout the tournament. This includes dedicating our ATMs as the sole provider of ATM machines in and around all eight stadiums along many other key locations expected to host a large number of fans and spectators.”
Al Khalifa also highlighted the group’s campaigns, events, and exclusive offers that came in collaboration with FIFA and other partners for QNB customers.
These included several ticket raffle draws, unique credit card and prepaid card designs, and events dedicated for football fans on social media.
He also highlighted the launch of the special FIFA designed credit cards for all its customer segments, making QNB the first bank to launch special FIFA branded cards for each of its segments to share the fun of hosting the biggest and most-prestigious football event with its customers.
Every design highlighted a specific element related to the FIFA World Cup. These included the Official FIFA World Cup Trophy that was embedded into almost all of the cards in several designs and sizes along with various illustrations of football players and goalkeepers embedded in several colours and designs, each tailored specifically for every customer category.
The QBN Group has also recently launched a special prepaid card design that included La’eeb, the official mascot for the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022, where all digital prepaid cards were updated on the iPhone Wallet application which saves all customer cards on the iPhone. This provides customers with a sense of exclusivity and uniqueness while sharing the football thrill.
