Doha: The Qatar Football Association and ASEAN Football Federation, in partnership with the Josoor Institute, join hands to host a three-day Digital Learning Series that will examine many aspects of major sporting event hosting in the post-covid era.

Experts in safety and security, volunteer management, venue management, fan engagement, services management and more will deliver insightful presentations designed to equip those attending with practical insight.

The three-day webinar will take place on Zoom webinars between 12th and 14th July 2021, with each day running from 15:00 – 17:25 Malaysian Standard Time.

This is the third webinar to be held by the QFA, with the participation of all 12 AFF Member Associations and in partnership with Josoor Institute. Like the first and the second, it is part of the digital education series to strengthen cooperation and activate the Memorandum of Understanding between QFA and ASEAN Football Federations.

Last October, the digital learning series was launched with the “Bouncing back from COVID-19 – safely returning to play and rebuilding revenues” webinar. Which tackled the issue of declining revenues the COVID-19 pandemic had resulted in, when business models in the sports industry were already evolving, in light of new distribution channels and other strategic factors.

With a stellar lineup of guest speakers, the sessions explored how to safely return to training and play amidst a pandemic crisis that remains largely unresolved.

The equally successful second instalment of the series was held in February of this year. It aimed to raise awareness of – and to combat – fraud, match-fixing and illegal betting activities that distort the integrity of the game. The three-day sessions focused on the importance of understanding the global impact of match-fixing. Additionally, it promoted skills in reporting related issues while raising awareness of the threats posed by sports betting to international football.

Day 1 of the seminars will be moderated by Mr David Cushnan, Head of Content at Leaders in Sport; the lectures will focus on Competition and Volunteer Management, Fan Engagement. The interactive sessions will be conducted by Abdulla Al Ansari, Competitions Operations, Qatar Stars League, Samantha Sifah, Fan Engagement Expert, Supreme Committee for Delivery & Legacy, and Rasha Al Qarni, Executive Human Resource Director, Supreme Committee for Delivery & Legacy.

Tony Touma, Hospitality Management, Supreme Committee for Delivery & Legacy, will open the discussion groups the following day; matters related to Services, the Media & the Broadcast and Transport Management will be at the centre of discussions. Other speakers will also include Marianna Grigoraki, the Media Operations Cluster Manager, FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 LLC, then Maria Spalarki, Broadcast Expert, Supreme Committee for Delivery & Legacy, and finally, Naoufal Amor, Senior Transport Specialist, Supreme Committee for Delivery & Legacy.

The webinar will conclude with a discussion panel addressing Venue Operations, Safety & Security and Medical, consisting of Nikita Minchenko, Venue Operations Planning Manager, Supreme Committee for Delivery & Legacy, and Jassim Al Kaabi, Director Safety and Security, Supreme Committee for Delivery & Legacy, and Gordon Penney HSSE Corporate Senior Manager, Supreme Committee for Delivery & Legacy.

Webinar Program:

Day 1 – Competition and Volunteer Management, Fan Engagement

Day 2 – Services, Media & Broadcast and Transport Management

Day 3 – Venue Operations, Safety & Security and Medical