Qatar FIFA World Cup 2022

In this episode, GU-Q professor Danyel Reiche speaks to members of the Georgetown University in Qatar community, including faculty, staff, and students, about their experiences attending live matches at the Qatar FIFA World Cup 2022. Taking part in this episode were GU-Q students Ahmad Al-Kuwari (class of 2023) and Suhaim Al-Thani (class of 2024); Santiago Garcia-Couto (GU-Q Assistant Professor of Economics); Sarah Holt (Student Wellness and Counseling Center program manager); and Robert Laws (Data, Web, and Media Services Librarian).

GUQ Professor Danyel Reiche talked to Farkhunda Muhtaj, captain of the Afghanistan women’s national football team and professional player with the Dutch team Fortuna Sittard, and Dr. Arni Thor Arnthorsson, Vice President of Student and Institutional Advancement at the American University of Afghanistan and a former football player. They discussed how Qatar helped prior to the FIFA World Cup 2022 football players and students from Afghanistan.Dr. Arni Thor Arnthorsson is the Vice President of Student and Institutional Affairs at the American University of Afghanistan. He holds a Ph.D. in Business Administration with specialization in Marketing from the University of South Carolina where he was a varsity soccer player from 1984-1987. Arnthorsson was born and raised in Iceland where he played in the top football league at an early age. He has experience as a coach as well. Arnthorsson has spent most of his career in Academia, and has lived in many countries in the world. Currently he lives in Madrid, Spain where he works remotely for his university. Arnthorsson has been in charge of relocation efforts of students and staff of AUAF in the last year. Recently 78 students have arrived in Qatar to be a part of Education City life as students at AUAF through his efforts.Farkhunda Muhtaj is an Afghan-Canadian professional footballer and social activist. She is the Captain of the Afghanistan Women’s National Team and plays for Fortuna Sittard in the Dutch Eredevisie. Muhtaj earned two degrees from York University; a BSc degree in Kinesiology and Health Sciences (2019) and a B.Ed degree in Science and Physical Education (2021). She captained York University’s Women’s Soccer Team and later joined the York Lions as an Assistant coach after spending 5 seasons as a player. She has won many academic and athletic accolades each year. Most recently Muhtaj was recognized as a Top 30 York Alumni Under 30 for her active dedication toward social justice. In 2021, she played an instrumental role in the evacuation of 300 + Afghans including the Afghanistan Youth National Team to Portugal after the Taliban came into power in August. Muhtaj is committed to developing and implementing sustainable humanitarian and sport projects locally and globally to help advance equitable and diverse opportunities for refugees and newcomers, women and girls, and underserved communities to feel empowered and become impactful leaders. She is heavily involved in many sport and social justice related initiatives including: The co-founder and director of Scarborough Simbas, a non-profit organization that uses sport to help ease the settlement journey of refugees and newcomers to Canada. Director of Conscience and Culture at the Respect Group Inc Humanitarian ambassador for Penny Appeal Canada. Where she helps spread awareness on humanitarian issues globally. Active member of Common Goal’s Anti-racism project, a reputable organization committed to tackling social challenges through football and serves on the board of Common Goal’s Quality Seal Committee.

Georgetown University Professor Danyel Reiche talked to Jack Thomas Taylor, Associate Curator and Manager of Exhibition Planning at The Media Majlis, a university museum located at Northwestern Qatar, about the current exhibition in the museum, titled “Is it a Beautiful Game?”, and how it relates to the FIFA World Cup 2022.Jack Thomas Taylor is the associate curator and manager of exhibition planning at The Media Majlis at Northwestern University and the curator of Is it a beautiful game? Taylor is a doctoral student at King's College London, researching culture, media, and the creative industries. He holds two master's degrees, one in Culture, Criticism and Curation from Central Saint Martins at the University of Arts London with a thesis observing the values that pertain to Universal Expositions (World Expos) and his second, an MBA in Culture and Enterprise, jointly awarded by Birkbeck Business School and his alma mater Central Saint Martins, with a dissertation with distinction questioning if business strategy tools can be used in the arts and culture domain.Taylor curated the inaugural exhibition at The Media Majlis Arab identities, images in film (2019) and has since gone on to curate Breaking News? how the smartphone changed journalism (2020), and Is it a beautiful game? (2022) at The Media Majlis. Other curatorial work includes Mind the Gap at Tashkeel (Dubai, 2017), Heritage: A User’s Manual at the Southbank Centre Archive Studio (London, 2016) and Inert Matter, Then Live Wire held at Central Saint Martins (London, 2016). Since 2009, he has held various positions in the arts, culture and creative domains in Abu Dhabi, Bahrain, Dubai, and Qatar across exhibitions, branding, visual arts, programming, and publishing.Taylor has wide-ranging experience in creative services, including with BOND Creative Agency as studio manager, strategist and producer (Abu Dhabi office) and as an independent cultural and creative strategist with TAYLOR Strategy and Design Advisory. Publishing work includes Brownbook (Dubai) and Arabian Magazines (Bahrain), as well as founding Alef Magazine in Qatar in 2013.