Barcelona legend Xavi Hernandez poses for a photograph with some of the workers who received tickets for tomorrow's Barcelona vs Al Ahli match during his surprise visit to the Labour City.
Xavi Hernandez, the former Barcelona midfielder who is also an ambassador for the Generation Amazing Programme of the Supreme Committee for Delivery and Legacy (SC), paid a surprise visit to football fans at the Labour City this weekend.
The Barcelona legend, now the skipper of Al Sadd Club, spent time with the expat workers, speaking about their involvement in the Generation Amazing Qatar programme and answering their football-related questions, also not forgetting to invite the workers to join him at the Barcelona - Al Ahli Saudi FC 'Match of Champions' which will take place in Doha tomorrow.
It was a moment of joy for Justin Santiago, a 36-year-old FC Barcelona fan from Chennai, India, who shook hands with the FIFA World Cup winner in the recreation room of his accommodation at Labour City.
“I love football, and I’m a huge fan of Barcelona because they have the best players, like Lionel Messi. I’ve seen so many matches of Xavi on TV, winning the World Cup, the Spanish league and the Champions League, so it was an incredible surprise to see him in person,” Santiago said following Al Sadd captain's unannounced visit.
For Santiago, the main benefits of the football for development project have been felt on the pitch at Labour City, where the Generation Amazing Programme is organised in conjunction with NAAAS Group.
The programme is also delivered by QDVC and Youth Club in Al Khor, with a total of 570 workers benefitting on a weekly basis from the coaching delivered across both sites.
“I remember the first time I was given tickets to go to a match, I was five or six years old and it was to attend a Barcelona game. We all love football in our family, and we went to a Gamper trophy with my father and grandfather, it was a great excitement that I felt before the game. So it was a pleasure to give tickets to the workers involved in the Generation Amazing Qatar programme for the Barcelona - Al Ahli game. It was an honour for me to give them these tickets and surprise them in this way,” Xavi said.
According to Isabel Gultresa, CSR Senior Manager at the SC, the visit was another important step on the journey the Generation Amazing programme has embarked on in Qatar.
She said: “It is very important for us to show to the participants of our projects how much we are encompassing football in their development, and taking them to a live football match is something we thought would be very special and relevant. We are taking the important moment of our ambassador’s former team visiting Qatar to celebrate what the power of football can do.”
“It was a very intense and a fantastic experience,” Xavi said afterwards. “I saw them enjoying the visit, and I enjoyed it a lot as well. We have agreed to meet again at the Barcelona vs Al Ahli game on Tuesday. I didn’t expect so much euphoria, such a warm reception, I thought that some people wouldn’t recognise me, but everyone did. I was proud to be with them.”
