Combining sport with safety education at OZEE Soccer Sevens tournament

Qatar 9 April 2017 – GAC Qatar, part of global shipping, logistics and marine services provider GAC, combined sports with safety awareness by bringing a Seatbelt Convincer to the Sri Lankan OZEE Soccer Sevens tournament held in Qatar, for which GAC Qatar was one of the sponsors.

“GAC Qatar is part of the Qatari community, and wants to stay involved in sports, well-being and safety awareness,” said General Manager Daniel Nordberg. “The company started operations in Qatar in 1979, and since then has become one of the country’s leading providers of shipping and logistics services. We consider it a privilege to work with the country, both for economic growth and social cohesion and community well-being. That’s why we arranged for a Seatbelt Convincer to be in place at the recent soccer event, in support of the authorities’ drive to get people to buckle up and focus on road safety.” 

The Seatbelt Convincer was placed at the event to drive home the importance of wearing seatbelts, and generally raise safety awareness among team members and spectators. Those who tried it out quickly got the message as they experienced a force of up to five times their body weight, similar to what would be experienced in a collision at just 10 km/hour.  

Nordberg added: “We were pleased with the impression that the Seatbelt Convincer had on those who gave it a try, and those watching. Seatbelts save lives every minute of every day, but it’s easy to forget how important they are. We wanted to effectively amplify the message that buckling up saves lives and protects your loved ones, and I believe we succeeded in that goal.”  

The OZEE Soccer Sevens tournament, held at Qatar’s International School of London campus, saw 28 teams competing against one another, cheered on by a large crowd including guest of honour, His Excellency A. S. P. Liyanage, Sri Lanka’s Ambassador to the State of Qatar. The winning team were the Maroons FC.