Leeds PR experts train Qatar’s sports and events industries

Public Relations experts from Leeds Metropolitan University are working with sporting organisations in Qatar.

The team, made up of Professor Ralph Tench, Lucy Laville, Dr Ioannis Kostopoulos and Phil Clements, have begun running short courses for the Josoor Institute, the centre for excellence for the sports and events industries in Qatar, covering marketing and PR for major sporting events.

They will continue to deliver courses leading up to the World Cup.

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Those attending the courses include the Qatar 2022 Supreme Committee, the Qatar Tourism Authority, the Qatar Football Association, the Qatar Stars League and the Qatar Olympic Committee.

Workshops delivered so far this year have focused on strategic planning and were delivered to large groups of attendees, many of whom are running communications departments and PR teams for football associations in the Middle East, including Q22, Qatar’s organising body for the World Cup.

Prof Ralph Tench, who has been working on the project planning for the past 18 months, said: “This is an exciting project to be involved with.

“We are working with two specialist areas of the university: events management and public relations and communications.”

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He added: “Going forward we hope to be developing full study programmes for the delegates over the next five years but also engaging in commissioned research projects about sport, sports business and related social issues on the build-up to the 2022 World Cup.

“This shows how seriously Qatar is taking the need to be prepared for the World Cup 2022 and to maximise the opportunities it will bring to the region, as well as how to create a legacy from hosting such a global event.”

Launched in December 2013, the Josoor Institute aims to train people who will play an integral role in Qatar’s hosting of the World Cup and be able to deliver large-scale sporting and non-sporting events across the region after 2022. The Qatar 2022 Supreme Committee is a founding partner of the Josoor Institute.

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