Washington, D.C. – Monumental Sports & Entertainment (MSE) and its teams the Washington Capitals, Washington Wizards and Washington Mystics and the Embassy of the State of Qatar in Washington, D.C. hosted a Qatar 2022 World Cup Celebration at Capital One Arena as the first iteration of their new partnership. The event comes shortly before FIFA World Cup Qatar begins on November 20th, 2022.
The partners welcomed nearly 500 children from 8 DC Public Schools to participate in basketball, hockey and soccer demos led by players from the Wizards, Mystics, and Capitals. Students then enjoyed in-person tours of the franchise team locker rooms, and virtual reality tours of the Qatar World Cup Venues.
“We couldn’t be more excited to host Qatar’s World Cup Celebration and offer local students fun physical and cultural activities,” said Jim Van Stone, President of Business Operations and Chief Commercial Officer at Monumental Sports & Entertainment. “With The Embassy of Qatar as our new partner, we look forward to developing more opportunities to engage with DC youth and to explore our common bonds through sports.
“As we countdown to the FIFA World Cup in Qatar later this year, we want to celebrate what makes global events like this so special- the sense of community and connection that sports bring to people from all walks of life,” said His Excellency Meshal bin Hamad Al Thani, Ambassador of the State of Qatar to the United States. “We are proud to work with Monumental Sports & Entertainment to share this spirit with almost 500 DC Public School children and connect with Washington sports fans in advance of the World Cup.”
His Excellency Dr. Hamad Al Muftah, Deputy Chief of Mission at the Embassy of the State of Qatar to the United States participated in the event alongside MSE executives including President of Business Operations and Chief Commercial Officer Jim Van Stone; Capitals players John Carlson, Lars Eller and Dmitry Orlov; Mystics players Tianna Hawkins and Shatori Walker Kimbrough; Wizards player Anthony Gill and team alumni including Phil Chenier, Michael Adams and Etan Thomas.
Sports serves as a great equalizer to see the cultural connections more clearly across the globe. Qatar is a strong believer that sport has the power to unite and build bridges of understanding between people and cultures. This early celebration, hosted by MSE for the first time has generated excitement for the 2022 World Cup in the fall and makes way for more opportunities to bridge more international connections through sports.
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About Monumental Sports & Entertainment
Monumental Sports & Entertainment is America’s leading sports and entertainment family. Our people, players, teams, and events bring excitement and joy to millions. We invest and innovate to consistently raise the game so we can deliver extraordinary experiences that will inspire and unite our community, our fans, and our people. To learn more, please visit www.monumentalsports.com.
About the Embassy of the State of Qatar to the United States
The Embassy of the State of Qatar in Washington, D.C. houses Qatar’s diplomatic mission to the United States. The primary purposes of the Embassy of Qatar are to highlight Qatar’s policies on regional issues, strengthen Qatar-U.S. bilateral relations, and to assist Qatari citizens who travel or live in the U.S. The current Ambassador of the State of Qatar to the United States of America is His Excellency Sheikh Meshal Bin Hamad Al-Thani.
