Generation Amazing will mark six months of GA Live this week.
The online football for development series was launched to engage and inspire youth across the world during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Since April, the sessions have attracted more than 150,000 viewers and reached more than 20 million people via the #GALive hashtag.
The sessions have included interviews with football stars, training sessions with Generation Amazing coaches, children’s book readings, webinars and details of key topics, including gender equality and inclusion.
A number of Supreme Committee for Delivery & Legacy ambassadors have taken part in the sessions, including Xavi Hernandez, Cafu, Samuel Eto’o and Tim Cahill, who all made appearances in the #GALive Star Chat series. Local football legends Mubarak Mustafa, Khalid Salman and Almoez Ali shared messages of hope and inspiration, while female players, such as Nadia Nadim, Lianne Sanderson and Allyson Swaby, spoke extensively about gender equality.
Moza Al Mohannadi, Generation Amazing’s Marketing & Communications Director, said: “We have been inspired by the consistently positive feedback, reach and impact of our online sessions since the start of the pandemic. We will continue to evolve our sessions to find the most effective way of engaging with youth to spread the message of creating positive change in societies through the transformative power of football.”
Al Mohannadi added: “We are proud of what we have achieved in such challenging circumstances. By swiftly and seamlessly launching the Generation Amazing online engagement, we were able to reach and support various segments of differing communities, and make a positive impact in their lives.”
Reflecting on the impact of the sessions, Generation Amazing Master Coach, Hamad Mohamed, said: “It has been a great learning experience hosting the sessions with my family members and I’m thrilled that youth in Qatar and around the world have been able to benefit from them.”
Last week, #GALive featured former Canadian national team goalkeeper and current Head of Women’s Football at CONCACAF, Karina LeBlanc. During the session, LeBlanc spoke about gender equality and footballing values, as well as initiatives geared at women in sport.
When offering her advice to the next generation, LeBlanc said: “When I told people that I wanted to go to the Olympics, I actually got cut from my first big team which I tried out for…I was broken-hearted and felt left out, but the next year, I trained 15 minutes more every single day and got called up for the full national team.”
Leblanc added: “Be willing to work harder than anyone and never let anyone tell you that you can’t do anything!”
Generation Amazing will continue its live weekly sessions until the end of the year. They will feature home sessions, live discussions and exclusive interviews.
In addition, in collaboration with Josoor Institute and academic partner University Campus of Football Business, Generation Amazing will also continue to host a monthly webinar series called ‘Inspiring Youth’ on topics of importance during this time.
Generation Amazing will also host its first major conference on sports diplomacy this month, in cooperation with the SC, UNESCO and Josoor Institute. This will start a new phase of mechanisms for activating communication and promoting the sports for development initiative.
Follow @GA4Good on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter and catch up on past Instagram Live sessions on IGTV. Send us your favourite pictures of you enjoying the #GALive sessions, tagging @GA4Good and using the #GALive hashtag.
