Doha, 29 August 2022 - President of Lusail Sports Club President Nawaf Al Mudahka underlined that Lusail SC is delivering the legacy of the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 before the start of its competitions, stressing the active role played by the club in promoting football at the community level, as a modern sports destination that attracts residents of Lusail City and surrounding areas.
In a statement to the Supreme Committee for Delivery and Legacy website, Al Mudahka said that: "This is a community space, not just a sports club. These world-class facilities are for the residents of Lusail. They bring people together from different cultures and nationalities to train here. The players start from a very young age and can go all the way through to the first team." Lusail Sports Club is located within Al Egla training site, close to Lusail Stadium, which will host the Lusail Super Cup on Friday 9 September, the match between the Saudi Al-Hilal and Zamalek Egyptian clubs, with a concert of the Arab star Amr Diab, and will witness the FIFA World Cup final on Qatar National Day.
Al Egla training site, which is home to Lusail Sports Club, has become a bustling sports destination in recent years, hosting weekly football training activities for girls and boys from the city of Lusail and beyond, forming one of the aspects of the sustainable community legacy of the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022.
For his part, Ciaran Kelly, Lusail SC’s Technical Director, explained how the club had thrived thanks to its link-up with the Supreme Committee for Delivery & Legacy (SC), the organization responsible for delivering the infrastructure and legacy for Qatar 2022.
He said: "through a partnership with the SC, we were able to use the facilities here at Al Egla. We currently have 600 players in the academy, with some as young as three. We are so fortunate to use Al Egla, which gives the entire Lusail community access to a World Cup training site".
Young players, who train at Al Egla every week are in awe of the facilities, expressed their admiration of the highly developed training site, "It’s crazy to think there will be famous players playing on this exact pitch. I can’t believe that Neymar or Messi will be training here," said Jada Alami, who plays for the girls’ U16s team.
Sanjar Ovezob, from the boys’ U17s team, said: "The pitch is perfect – playing here is comfortable and easy. It’s one of the best facilities I’ve played at."
Al Egla training site, which provides a vital community facility for the ever-growing city of Lusail, hosts the Korea and Tunisia teams training sessions during the FIFA World Cup, which will be held from 21 November to 18 December.
Al Egla and more than 30 other training sites will form the backbone of Qatar’s compact tournament plans. For the first time in modern history, players will stay and train in the same place throughout the FIFA World Cup, meaning more time for rest and recuperation. Fans will also benefit from the compact nature of the event by having the chance to attend more than one match a day during the early stages of the tournament.
In addition, the close-distance nature will bring many advantages to fans, foremost of which is the possibility of attending more than one match in one day during the first rounds of competitions, and enjoying Qatar's abundance of various tourist attractions, all located within walking distance from the championship stadiums.
