Sheikha
Al Thani SATUC Chairperson
Princess Sheikha Al-Thani SATUC Chairperson: Growing up between Egypt, the UK, and the US, Sheikha was deeply affected by all the unnecessary suffering in the world when she was only a child herself.
Sheikha Al Thani attended Queen’s Gate School in London and later graduated with her BA from the University of Cambridge, UK. Sheikha was granted an honorary doctorate and was named World Federation of United Nations Friends (WFUNF) Goodwill Ambassador for her humanitarian initiative to organize SATUC World Cup for Orphans and refugees from all over the world and to create new ways to integrate them into society. The World Federation of United Nations Frind (WFUNF) agreed to carry out common projects for the orphaned children with her. Sheikha is very humble about her endeavours and is always touched whenever her organization’s work is recognized. For example, SATUC under her vision recently won the Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Creative Sports Award (MBR) for her humanitarian initiative to organize SATUC World Cup for Orphans and refugees from all over the world and to create new ways to integrate them into society. Princess Sheikha was even presented with an Honorary Black Belt by the Georgian National Karate Federation and an MMA belt while visiting Georgia this year on the 5th of May. Sheikha’s love of sport is no secret, and she uses this passion to drive her in her charitable work.
Children who have encountered hardship and difficulties in life are always on Sheikha’s mind. She is adamant that sport is a means of achieving new levels of cooperation as well as providing meaning to one’s life. She believes that each one of these children has special gifts that should be nurtured, and is constantly in touch with the ever-growing network of charities, orphanages, ambassadors and even politicians who share her common goal. Many people believed in and supported her, and those people are what Sheikha likes to call ‘the pillars of SATUC’.
Upon receiving her honorary doctorate and ambassadorship from The United Nations, she expressed, “I can only find happiness when I see smiles on the faces of children… they demand very little and that is why I work hard to send a message to the whole world that a smile on the face of an orphaned child after winning 1st place in a tournament far surpasses winning wars and shedding blood!”
At the tender age of 14, Sheikha decided to found SATUC
and has since dedicated her life to improving the lives of marginalized and disadvantaged children. In her bid to raise awareness and offer her support, Sheikha has already engaged in charitable work in places as far afield as Malawi, Pakistan, Georgia, the Philippines, and Sudan to name but a few. Despite her travels, Sheikha has always been mindful that charity begins at home and has devoted a lot of her time to projects closer to her bases in London and Cairo, including working with disabled children from Sense Scotland, supporting various children’s hospitals in Egypt and organizing a countrywide football tournament for orphans and underprivileged children in 2013 we have been using football to inspire and empower children from underprivileged backgrounds. For example, in 2014 we organized the first SATUC tournament in Egypt with 16 teams from all over the country. 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. Then in 2015, we went global as we organized 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 organized 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 is very aware of how lucky she has been in her life and she is determined to make the most of the gifts she has been granted to help those who are less fortunate. Since being founded in 2013, SATUC has supported many grassroots projects worldwide. Sheikha’s personal goal and SATUC’s mission is to eliminate social injustice and poverty from the world and provide a brighter future for the most disadvantaged children. In a phrase, SATUC’s goal is to give hope to the hopeless, and Sheikha will never give up on her mission.