More Than Being A Player

Ahmed Al-Nowfal Al-Tamimi, Qatar

Ahmed Al-Nowfal Al-Tamimi works in Sports Management, working on projects during the Arabian Gulf Cup and FIFA Arab Cup. As part of the GOALS program, Ahmed tells the story of his goalkeeping career, his transition to working in sport, and his belief in the power of education.

“Every day is like a new white paper waiting to be written on.” I have always liked and believed in this sentence. My name is Ahmed Al-Nowfal Al-Tamimi; I was born and raised in Qatar.

My enthusiasm for sports started when I was younger. I always wanted to be a goalkeeper playing for the national team. It was more than just a wish, I was talented. During my childhood, I was called “couch” referring to how I would play in goal without letting any shots past me.

I would receive compliments like “you play like Gianluigi Buffon” which would push my dream further towards being a professional player until a day came that transformed the way I think about sports. It was 2010 when I saw my older brother on TV representing Qatar’s bid to host the FIFA World Cup 2022.

The older I am, the more I believe in the honor of serving my country, which is every hard worker’s dream. Precisely, it was my missing piece of the puzzle and the flavor I have always wanted to taste. Hence I devoted myself to striving for excellence and gaining the right knowledge.

The journey started with the hardest decision: leaving Al-Gharafa SC at short notice. I came to believe that being involved with sports had more significance than just being a player. Sports could be the key factor in supporting the country on all levels, and I wanted to take a bigger part in supporting and serving the country.

Leaving football was hard because I left my childhood dream of being a professional player. I had to show resilience to do all it takes to progress to the next chapter, “more than being a player.”

Negative thoughts about being a professional player saved me multiple times from returning. “What If I get a serious injury and everything is over? What if I was the reason behind losing an important tournament? What is the next job title after football?”. However, these were excuses to strengthen my earlier decision!

A few years later, the hard work paid off. Alongside my Engineering degree from Texas A&M in Qatar (TAMUQ), one of the Qatar Foundation universities, in 2017 I was honored to become part of the team working on Lusail Stadium.

I have represented Qatar on various occasions, including at the 24th Arabian Gulf Cup 2019 and serving during the FIFA Arab Cup 2021 as LOC (Local Organizing Committee) Marketing lead.

However, being involved in sports events operations did not take me away from playing football. I have dedicated myself to regularly playing within the university and local tournaments as a TAMUQ goalkeeper and Qatar Foundation All-Star Team goalkeeper, alongside being a coach for one of the Qatar Foundation teams for a while.

Being involved in sports events means more than being a player. Sports welcome all professionals from various backgrounds and religions, such as doctors, engineers, police officers, entrepreneurs, students, and artists. The majority of sports managers were not professional players, but they are excellent leaders. Education is the right road and passport to the future.

I recently established a company called Voice of Initiatives in Qatar. We want to pioneer a new concept for education in various countries  by developing technical, academic, and occupationally aligned courses for youths, undergraduates, and professionals.

I previously enrolled in a competition within Qatar SportsTech, a place to accelerate the sports industry to new heights. I got selected as one of the winners with an idea related to operations during mega-events. This was the time when I saw myself changing my childhood hobby to a professional hobby by giving back the knowledge I gained to my community.

One may not remember everything, but one must learn how to think, identify, then implement it. Qatar and the world need more than grades on papers. This is one of the missions of the Qatar Foundation, which I have been part of for close to nine years. Qatar Foundation believed in the power of knowledge and heavily invested in education, sport, and art at a time the Middle East was known for conflicts. Holding a pen is much more powerful than holding a weapon, and spending money on education is better than wasting money on weapons.