The match will also be streamed live to a global audience on beIN Sports’ YouTube channel.
BeIN Sports will broadcast the inaugural ‘Match for Hope’ charity football match live across MENA, spotlighting an exhibition game featuring a host of football legends including Roberto Carlos, Ricardo Kaka, Claude Makelele, David Villa, as well as some of the world’s most-watched content creators. The match, which is being organised by Q Life, a cultural platform under Qatar’s International Media Office (IMO), in collaboration with Qatar Football Association (QFA) and Education Above All Foundation, is set to take place on February 23 at the Ahmad bin Ali Stadium, which hosted seven matches during the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022.
Live studio coverage will precede the match on beIN Sports’ free-to-air channel in Arabic at 19:30 MECCA, and in English on beIN Sports ENGLISH 1, leading up to the opening whistle at 20:00 MECCA. Presenter Meshari Al Khuzaim will lead the Arabic studio analysis, joined by former Qatari international footballer Ibrahim Khalfan and former Moroccan professional footballer Abdelaziz Bennij. The English studio will be hosted by beIN’s presenter Nicky Crosby, with expert analysis from former French football professional Didier Domi, former Republic of Ireland international Jason McAteer, and English former professional footballer Nick Summerbee. The match will also be streamed live to a global audience on beIN Sports’ YouTube channel.
Coached by former Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger and Italian professional footballer Antonio Conte, and captained by social media sensations AboFlah and Chunkz, the match aims to raise funds and awareness for the Education Above All (EAA) Foundation, a global non-profit organisation dedicated to transforming the lives of millions of out-of-school children worldwide. All proceeds from the match will be donated to EAA projects in Mali, Pakistan, Palestine, Rwanda, Sudan, and Tanzania. Match tickets are available for purchase on the Match for Hope website at match4hope.com, and fans can also contribute to the cause by clicking the ‘Donate’ button.
In addition to the upcoming ‘Match for Hope,’ beIN has a longstanding commitment to harnessing the power of sports to support charitable causes and driving positive change through its global platform. Recently, beIN aired the entire AFC Asian Cup Qatar 2023 live for injured Palestinians evacuated from Gaza to Qatar, providing temporary respite from the war. This initiative aligns with beIN’s pledge to make the beautiful game more inclusive, as seen during the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 with dedicated fan zones across the MENA region specifically for refugees and displaced people. Furthermore, beIN has been proactive in response to natural disasters, as demonstrated by its fundraising campaign for Morocco and Libya in partnership with Qatar Charity, leveraging its extensive network to generate donations for humanitarian and medical aid.