Fifa Global Partner Dalian Wanda Teams up With QF To Give Qatar’s Youth the Chance to Fly the Fifa Flag

 It’s an opportunity to step onto the same turf as the world’s best footballers in front of tens of thousands of fans – and it’s being offered to Qatar’s youth by Wanda Group, the Chinese conglomerate and FIFA Partner, and Qatar Foundation (QF).

In the latest development to be offered through the empowering sporting partnership between the two organizations, young people who registered for Qatar Foundation’s (QF) 2022-23 CommuniSport programs – offering over 120 classes in water sports, racket sports, team sports, and martial arts – have put themselves in with a chance of becoming Wanda FIFA Flag Bearers at FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022™ matches.

Wanda FIFA Flag Bearers will be part of the pre-match ceremonies ahead of games during the tournament carrying the FIFA™ flag onto the pitch before the players take the field to help set the tone for the top footballing action to follow. Over 250 spots are available through Wanda and QF’s collaboration, and will be allocated to participants in several QF sport, cultural, and community programs – including Communisport.

“Over the past three years, our partnership with Wanda Group has provided unforgettable moments and memories for hundreds of young people who participate in the sporting and community programs that we offer within our open, inclusive environment at Education City,” said Alexandru Rosca, Manager of Community Engagement and Activation, Qatar Foundation.

“With the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022™ just around the corner and excitement reaching fever pitch, we’re absolutely delighted to now be teaming up with Wanda once again to give youth from Qatar who join our CommuniSport programs the opportunity to be at the heart of the FIFA World Cup™ experience – which we hope will inspire them to strive to achieve their personal goals in the future, in sport and in life.

“This is just one of the pathways that Wanda and QF are providing for young people in Qatar to be part of the color and vibrancy of the first FIFA World Cup™ in the Middle East and the Arab world, as ambassadors for our nation as the gaze of the world turns our way. It is another illustration of how, by joining our QF community, incredible opportunities and experiences open up.”

Led by expert coaches, CommuniSport programs are a platform for young people to enjoy sport, learn new skills, and make new friends. To have been eligible for consideration as a Wanda FIFA Flag Bearer, participants must be aged 12-16 on November 20, 2022, be fully vaccinated in line with Ministry of Public Health guidelines, and registered onto this terms CommuniSport programs.

Wanda FIFA Flag Bearers are also being selected from Qatar schools who submit their poems to the D’reesha Arabic Poetry Competition, launched by QF with the Ministry of Education and Higher Education. Designed to celebrate the Arabic language, it is part of the build-up to the second edition of QF’s forthcoming D’reesha Performing Arts Festival.

Meanwhile, some volunteers for the Street Child World Cup, taking place at QF’s Education City from October 8-15, and for QF’s Ability Friendly Program – an initiative that provides sporting and development opportunities to people of all ages – were eligible to be selected as Wanda FIFA Flag Bearers, as were participants in QF and Generation Amazing’s Women’s Football Initiative and upcoming Freestyle Football workshops at QF schools.

The FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022™ collaboration between QF and Wanda is just the latest element of a longstanding partnership between the organizations. They have previously teamed up to provide once-in-a-lifetime experiences for over 200 young people from QF’s schools and sports programs at the FIFA Women’s World Cup France 2019™, the 2019 and 2020 editions of the FIFA Club World Cup™, and the FIFA Arab Cup 2021™.

To find out more about QF and Wanda’s partnership, and QF youth serving as Wanda FIFA Flag Bearers at the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022™, visit https://www.qf.org.qa/wanda-fifa-flag-bearer-program

• QF’s D’reesha Performing Arts Festival will take place at Education City from December 11-17, during the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022™, under the theme ‘Travel and Adventure’. Open to everyone, it will showcase a variety of performances in Arabic and English, from music and poetry to visual arts and theater, with the new D’reesha of Invention and Innovation showcasing scientists, scholars, and researchers from the Arab world. To find out more, visit www.qf.org.qa/dreesha