Ahmed Al Meghessib is a Red Bull Qatar athlete, professional football player (he's rated as one of the regions's top FIFA players) and professional EA Sports player (currently the face of Red Bull Qatar's AAMeghessib's Back-2-Back which is a 2v2 FIFA 20 tournament). He plays for Al Duhail and is Qatar’s no. 1 eSports FIFA Champion.

Al Meghessib believes in positivity even during the time of crisis when we are all staying home due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) to control its spread in Qatar. Though, he spends most of his time at home now, he hasn't let that affect his daily routine of exercise and playing his favourite eSports games. But, that's not all. He's also trying out some new things as well.

Let's go right into the interview and find out what he is doing these days to stay positive!

People have been advised to remain at home amidst the coronavirus (COVID-19) lockdown, are you complying with the rules and what your thoughts?

Ahmed Al Meghessib: Totally not complaining about staying indoors for our own safety and security. In fact I’m looking at this period as a positive thing that is allowing me to think about new stuff to do such as reading books and enhancing my gaming skills by learning new showboating skills in FIFA. We could always use free time to our benefits.

Why should everyone pay close attention to Qatar government's advisory on staying at home at a time like this?

Ahmed Al Meghessib: I think it’s important that all people stick together as one hand and listen to the government’s advice and recommendations to stay home and help avoid spreading the virus.

Do you think the change in daily habits due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) will affect the people’s behaviour in a positive way even after the lockdown is resolved?

Ahmed Al Meghessib: It depends on the person. At such times, a person can change his lifestyle and specially getting more time to be with the family and this may change his idea on how important it is to actually invest more in spending time with you family and loved ones. It will also open our eyes to how blessed we are with the lives we have, looking back at our dailies pre-COVID-19 outbreak.

Describe your day in self quarantine, what is your daily routine and how are you investing this time at home in something positive?

Ahmed Al Meghessib: At first, it wasn’t easy for me to adapt to this change in daily routine. As a professional football player also, I have daily football training which requires me to wake up early every day. Now it’s a bit more relaxed schedule; I get the chance to rest my body more with more sleep. Yet this doesn’t mean we stop training, never. I'm finding alternatives that suit the current situation, such as opting for a daily run in the neighbourhood or at any close stadium to maintain my fitness level. I also do upper body workout at home. Nevertheless, keeping enough time during the day and night for spending time with my family and gaming.

eSports is becoming more popular as people observe the stay at home call to curb the coronavirus (COVID-19) spread, what your thoughts on the popularity of eSports?

Ahmed Al Meghessib: Being a sportive discipline that can be practiced indoors, eSports is getting more attention in such times since people are staying home. Numbers of viewers on live streaming platforms are increasing which is a good sign. Many gamers are having more time to play and showcase their skills and share with others, meaning that many people will improve their gaming level. Gamers are benefitting from this time, whether gaming casually with a friend online or e-Sports athletes playing pro to train for their next online tournament. On a positive note, families are more accepting to the fact that their kids are playing for hours on their consoles while staying home and enjoying their time.

How will eSports and home gaming influence people positively while staying at home?

Ahmed Al Meghessib: Streamers are sharing videos on their social media platforms talking about how to enjoy these moment at home through gaming. Viewers are definitely benefiting from watching their videos on YouTube or watching them live stream as influencers have more time now to stream and upload more videos on their channels. This pattern will help in drifting the attention away from the negative vibes that this virus is spreading across the people.

Please share with us your gaming routine during these times and how did it change?

Ahmed Al Meghessib: My gaming routine at the moment is different than the usual as I'm spending more time to play other games beside FIFA which is my professional eSport game. Other games I’m enjoying now are First Person Shooters such as "Call of Duty: Modern Warfare". We play this game online, get into a group of five friends, we play together for hours, joke, have fun by beating other teams, so I added that to my routine and its great I’m enjoying it daily!

Share some games that you are playing, in addition to FIFA, and you would recommend for the audience during this period?

Ahmed Al Meghessib: As I mentioned I play "Call of Duty: Modern Warfare" a lot and specially the new mode which is called WarZone I advise people to try that; it’s amazing.

What other activities are you engaged in at home that you would like to share with your fans?

Ahmed Al Meghessib: Well I’m starting to create more videos as snippets from the FIFA games I play. I focus on sharing scoring some nice goals that are unique to be scored and uploading them into my social media platforms as gaming insights to share with the gaming community on my platforms.

As a football player, athletes need competition and tournaments, to stay in top form, what will you do stay in good form without competition?

Ahmed Al Meghessib: As I mentioned earlier, I keep my fitness level by having outdoor runs sometimes alone or with a friend to have a bit of challenge and enjoyment, doing workouts such as core, abs, push ups in many different ways to help keeping my fitness level at this time.

What is your advice to residents living in Qatar on how to maintain fitness drills at home? Can you share some tips on staying fit?

Ahmed Al Meghessib: My advice is to watch videos of home training and try do them indoors at home with their family. That not only helps maintain their fitness level and enhance their well-being, but also goes for an enjoyable time as a family activity, makes the workout more fun. Staying fit definitely is a way to avoid catching the virus.

Is the current period affecting athletes more or other people and how?

Ahmed Al Meghessib: Actually it affecting both. Yet athletes have an issue that there season is off and they have different type of training now to opt for at home individually or online with their fitness coaches. Also the uncertainty and not knowing how the sports federations will move forward with planned tournaments and what decisions will be taken due to current situations on what decision they will make to the current situation. at the end we all should wait until people fights towards the virus.

How are you looking at the future period and what are your comeback plans after these tough times on all levels?

Ahmed Al Meghessib: I hope that in the near future the virus will be controlled and everything goes back to normal and the world learns about this time to avoid any future issues happening in the same way.

Details

To know more about this young Qatari sportsman Ahmed Al Meghessib, check out the link below:

2 minutes with Ahmed Al Meghessib: https://www.iloveqatar.net/videos/minutesWith/2-minutes-with-ahmed-al-meghessib

You can also connect with him on his social media page:

Instagram: @aameghessib

Follow us on our social media channels: @ILQlive @ILQlive @ILoveQtr ILoveQatar

Nabeela

Content Writer

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