About
Us
“CHANGING LIVES AND GIVING CHANCES TO THE CHILDREN OF THE WORLD”
SATUC is a non-profit organisation founded by Princess Sheikha Al Thani and is a registered charity in Egypt: sheikha al-Thani for underprivileged children charity registration (No. 855) working to help orphans and underprivileged children.
It aims to help disadvantaged, refugee and orphaned children all over the world. It focuses on programmes that help to empower children through community projects; equipping children with the social, academic and sporting skills they will need to excel in life. Football, as a team sport, is seen by SATUC as a vital tool in achieving our goals. It has a unique ability to transcend social barriers and bring people together. It was with this in mind that the SATUC World Cup was envisaged.
From an early age, Sheikha worked hard to support disadvantaged children in countries such as Egypt, Sudan, the Philippines, Georgia, Pankstain the UK and other destinations throughout the world. Despite her youth, she has carried out many projects in her lifetime as she strongly believes it is important to give our attention as a global community to children who have suffered great hardships in their young lives.
To smooth the path for these children, Sheikha puts a strong emphasis on education in combination with fighting the poverty that traps so many of these children; she has taken it upon herself to encourage governments around the world to look after these kinds of disadvantaged individuals as it is the governments who are in the strongest position to help achieve prosperity for their countries.
In 2014 SATUC organized in Egypt with 16 teams from all over the country the first football tournament for orphans in Egypt under the aegis of Sheikha Sheikha Al-Thani, the founder of SATUC and her brother Sheikh Sultan Al-Thani. The tournament was organized in cooperation with several NGOs, affording street children and orphans from districts all over Egypt a unique opportunity. After this first edition, the tournament grew in popularity and gained international recognition, support and cooperation from football stars and historic clubs like Al-Ahly, which is still ongoing.
SATUC wanted to spread this success globally and therefore wanted to extend the tournament for disadvantaged children to different countries around the world. Thus in 2015, we went global as we organised our first edition of the SATUC World Cup in Cairo, Egypt where we invited teams from 8 countries as follows: Egypt, Syria, Algeria, Morocco, Mauritania, England, Cote d’Ivoire and the Philippines. In 2018 we held the second edition of our World Cup in a different continent, in Europe, more specifically in Sofia, Bulgaria. We had 12 teams from all over the world as follows: Bulgaria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Cambodia, Indonesia, Liberia, Syria, Iraq, Morocco, Mexico, Peru, Colombia and Nigeria.
We have also organised football camps on 5 continents, sending a clear message to children: that through football training, effort and dedication they can change their lives, as well as avoid falling into criminality or drug use.
Sheikha’s dream to SATUC has the support from all the international foundations to strengthen our aim of helping vulnerable or underprivileged children by providing them with new opportunities to get them away from poverty and further suffering.
SATUC’s exponential expansion means it now has many projects to serve and help disadvantaged children, some of which we are actively working on now, with others in preliminary contact: not least the upcoming SATUC World Cup!
SATUC’s Story
Growing up between Egypt, the UK and the US, Sheikha was shocked by all the unnecessary suffering in the world. She felt a natural responsibility to help those less fortunate than herself and so, at the age of just 14, decided to found SATUC (Sheikha Al-Thani for Uniting Children Charity), which seeks to provide aid and opportunities to marginalised and disadvantaged children. Since then, Sheikha has travelled to places like Malawi, the Philippines and Egypt to raise awareness and offer her support. Sheikha is a strong advocate for sport as a means of social development and progress was determined from the start that sport be a core component of SATUC’s work. A keen sportswoman herself, she hopes that the SATUC Football Cup can provide opportunities for healthy competition and personal development for the children. After the success of the 2013 Egyptian tournament Sheikha wanted to roll the scheme out on a grander scale; hence the international basis of the SATUC Football Cup.
Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Creative Sports Award
SATUC recently won the MBR (Mohammed Bin Rashid) Creative Sports Award
The Award is the world’s leading award in terms of value, and diversity of categories. It is the primary sports award dedicated to inspiring creativity in sports in the UAE, Arab countries, and the world in general.
SATUC, headed by Princess Sheikha Al-Thani, won the award for being a great charitable foundation, not solely through the sporting successes, the organization has helped to realise, but also for work in all charitable social aspects. Of course, some of our children have even been signed to football clubs due to our work, and we continue to fight to change the lives of all of our children. The specific category is, ‘The Arab Organization Award’.
SATUC is very pleased to be recognized for all the work we do for the orphaned and disadvantaged children of the world, but mostly to be among so many worthy winners who are not just hard-working, but beacons of hope to those in need; this award is for them. Furthermore, it is for everyone, from our wonderful ambassadors to our volunteers, and to everyone who has donated even the smallest amount to help the children for whom we care so much. This award will propel SATUC to new heights of capability in helping the orphaned and disadvantaged children of the world!
Winners were honoured at an Awards Ceremony on the 9th of January 2017 at The Dubai World Trade Centre.
Lives already changed by SATUC
SATUC does more than just help our children…in fact, we have already had some huge success stories. At the cups so far we have invited top football scouts to witness the skills of the stars of tomorrow. As previously mentioned, we do not see our children as victims, and sometimes we can act as a springboard, propelling them into very bright futures.