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tribune news network
Doha
The Qatar Football Association (QFA) and Qatar Shell renewed their partnership on Sunday for another five years, continuing Qatar Shell's position of Lead Partner as sponsor of the prestigious Emir Cup tournament and all categories of the Qatar National Teams.
Qatar Shell has been sponsoring the Emir Cup for fourteen consecutive years.
The partnership announcement took place at the QFA headquarters in Al Bidda Tower and the event was attended by Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa bin Ahmed al Thani, QFA President and Andrew Faulkner, Managing Director and Chairman of Qatar Shell Companies.
Commenting on the occasion, Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa bin Ahmed al Thani said,"We are very happy to extend our partnership with Qatar Shell for a further five seasons for the sponsoring of our Qatar National Teams and Emir Cup. We thank Qatar Shell for their continued support of our national teams, especially since the Qatar National Teams have several milestones in the upcoming period. This announcement caps a great era of participation between the two organizations following the successes of the Koora Time initiative. Through working closely with Qatar Shell, we are constantly working together to inspire greater participation in Koora Time and football, thus achieving the goals of the initiative."
Andrew Faulkner stated,"Qatar Shell has long supported football in Qatar. We are delighted to continue our support of QFA and help build Qatar's football future. Our partnership is a great opportunity to engage very closely with the fans and provide more opportunities and spaces to play football in a fun and non-competitive environment.
Separately, the two partners' long-term corporate social responsibility initiative, Koora Time, has just wrapped up its sixth and most successful season. In line with the Qatar National Vision 2030, Koora Time is an award-winning initiative designed to improve the health and well being of Qatar's youth through football. With over 22 venues across Qatar, the initiative facilitates access to an additional 72 hours of physical activity and more opportunities and spaces to play football over its 18-week duration.
Since its launch in March 2013, the programme has benefitted over 20,000 children across Qatar. This year's programme again saw a significant reduction in Body Mass Index (BMI) by 80% of participants. BMI is a measure of body fat based on height and weight. Approximately 40% of Qataris were classified as obese in 2015, in part due to lack of access to physical activities and spaces to engage in sports.
In recognition for its positive impact on the health of youth, Koora Time has been the recipient of numerous awards including the 2014 & 2016 'Sports Industry Award' for Best CSR Initiative, the 2015 'CSR Award Qatar' for Best CSR Impact Initiative, the 2014 'Dar Al Sharq Corporate Social Responsibility Award' for the Best Sports Initiative, the '2014, 2016 and 2017 AFC Dream of Asia Award' in the area of social responsibility and the 2017 'QFA Awards' for Best CSR Programme.
