The FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 – the first football showpiece in the Middle East and the Arab world – will see 20,000 volunteers playing a vital role in the success of historic edition of sport’s biggest show on the planet. On Friday night, these volunteers along with staff and guests came together to kick off their dream journey at the Lusail Stadium – Qatar’s biggest venue which will host the final – with an official orientation event, a festive ceremony featuring football legends and FIFA World Cup 2022 top brass.
Irrespective of nationality, culture, age, gender and experience, these volunteers will work throughout the tournament. Friday’s event was aimed at building a greater sense of community and helping everyone become more familiar with their respective activities across 45 different functional roles by giving them a glimpse of the challenges and the rewards in store. The Official volunteer uniform was also revealed during the event, winning praise from the volunteers.
Messages of encouragement from English football superstar David Beckham and Australia’s top FIFA World Cup scorer, former Aussie national Tim Cahill were also delivered.
Volunteers learned their entire journey through entertaining video presentations which included an introduction to the e-learning platform where volunteers receive general subject training in topics such as sustainability, cultural awareness and customer services in order to better perform their basic service role.
Volunteers will now start their general and role-specific training online and venue training at the actual sites where they will be based and perform their roles.
FIFA’s Chief Operating Officer - World Cup and Managing Director for Q22, Colin Smith said volunteers are true heartbeat because their passion and selfless devotion sustain everything the organisers do. “It’s through their efforts that the FIFA World Cup in Qatar can be considered the most inclusive ever and will connect people from all cultures and backgrounds through the game of football,” he commented.
Launched in March this year at Katara Amphitheatre, the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 Volunteer Programme interviewed thousands of candidates from more than 170 countries since mid-May, when the Volunteer Centre was opened in Doha. The FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 Volunteer Programme is the largest in the country’s history and aims to unite people through football to deliver an outstanding tournament – celebrating love for the game and showcasing the true spirit of Qatar. Volunteers during the Friday event showed a lot of passion and excitement, vowing to put their best effort and teamwork for the success of the historic tournament, with one of them saying “I feel we are a big community with one heart.”
