Qatar partnership with World Health Organization leaves legacy for safe and healthy mega-sporting events

Capturing and building on the experiences of the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022, the State of Qatar and World Health Organization (WHO) has launched a new report providing lessons learned and recommendations for staging healthy and safe mega and grassroots sporting events around the world.

The report, titled Changing the Game: Strengthening Health and Well-Being through Sport Events, is the product of the three-year Sport for Health partnership established in 2021 by Qatar and WHO, in collaboration with FIFA and Qatar’s Supreme Committee for Delivery and Legacy, to deliver and ensure the legacy of a healthy and safe FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022.

Launching the report, Dr Hanan Mohamed Al Kuwari, Minister of Public Health for Qatar, advised “the collaboration between Qatar, WHO and FIFA can inspire organisers of major global sporting events to integrate health into the planning and execution of their events.

“The Sport for Health model reflects a commitment to harness the transformative power of mega-sports events to create lasting improvements in public health and well-being.

“This report details our collaborative effort - a new model that unites nations, international organisations, and sports federations in a shared mission.”

Advising that the new report demonstrated the power of sports - and sporting events - to empower people to lead healthier lives, physically and mentally, WHO Director-General, Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus noted “once again, we see that health promotion, health advocacy and health security can be seamlessly mainstreamed into the staging of mega sport events.

“WHO is committed to ensuring that sporting events continue to be used as powerful drivers for sustainable health.”

The Sport for Health Partnership culminated in the staging of a range of health-related activities during the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022, dealing with health promotion (tobacco control, healthy diets, mental health, and physical activity), health security, and advocacy and communications.

A review was undertaken of the three-year project and produced a range of recommendations that included the importance of:

• Developing memorandums of understanding with the private health sector - including hospitals and health care providers - before major events to set the foundation for effective collaboration;

• Involving all relevant authorities and bodies in decision making, planning, and implementation;

• Developing and reviewing comprehensive plans and procedures to enhance safety at mega sports events, then testing them with an equally comprehensive training programme and series of major incident drills.

• Establishing mechanisms to strengthen compliance with public health and social measures and other established public health protocols.

The Sport for Health partnership was launched to support efforts to protect health during and beyond the tournament, so that visitors, players, staff and residents could have a safe and enjoyable time. The partnership also focused on advocating to improve health beyond sport, making the most of the World Cup and its legacy by associating it with a range of programmes promoting physical activity, healthy nutrition, and healthy lifestyle choices.

The report captures the learning process and results of the partnership, and offers up the Healthy FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 project as a model to be tailored across future sport events.

Image credit: World Health Organization.