Successful Table Tennis Corporate Cup at the Inaugural ITTF Summit
As part of the fundraising campaign, the ITTF Foundation commenced its Table Tennis Corporate Cup on 5 December 2022, in Amman, Jordan.
“The first-ever Table Tennis Corporate Cup was an amazing experience. We are grateful for the contributions the participating companies made and the support from the ITTF Group, the Jordan Table Tennis Federation, and especially to our Governing Board member HRH Princess Zeina Rashid and her coordinator Diana Dourah, as well as Wiebke Scheffler and Moncho Ortega Montes,” Leandro Olvech, ITTF Foundation Director, said. “We had a wonderful time with the table tennis stars. The companies can keep playing table tennis at work to promote a healthy lifestyle, and we can continue to expand and replicate our impacts in more communities worldwide.”
The Corporate Cup allows companies to play in pairs with top-ranked table tennis players, build networks, and join our mission of fostering positive social change in the world. The participating companies received in return a table tennis package consisting of table tennis tables, rackets, balls, and tips and tricks to incorporate table tennis into the corporate culture.
Table Tennis at Work (TT@Work) is our initiative to promote healthy corporate culture by integrating table tennis into the workplace. TT@Work brings beneficial outcomes, including an improvement in employees' concentration, response, and creativity, as well as the stimulation of brain functions, reduction of stress, and development of tactical thinking abilities.
The Amman Corporate Cup delivered not only a welcoming ambience but also a tournament that was brimming with rivalry and sportsmanship. Here is the list of doubles in the Amman Corporate Cup:
Capital Bank 1 (Mustafa ELBUZZ+ Liu SHIWEN)
Maani Ventures 1 (Ahmad Walid Abdulfatah SALEH+ Khamal ACHANTA)
Toyota 1 (Yousef Abu MINSHAR + Ryu SEUNG-MIN)
Bank al Etihad 1 (Samer NUQOL + Jörgen PERSSON)
Zain 1 (Rushud Abu ALNASSER + Zoran PRIMORAC)
Clara 1 (Ghassan MAAMARBACHI + Jean Michel SAIVE)
Ultra 1 (Alie Abo SHUMH + Stefan FEGERL)
Maani Ventures 2 (Ali Ahman AL DWSIRI + Galia DVORAK)
Toyota 2 (Ghassan AYYASH + Massimo COSTANTINI)
Bank al Etihad 2 (Hasan MHAREH + Ingela LUNDBACK)
Capital Bank 2 (Anas EL HIN + Zeina RASHID)
Clara 2 (Abdulrahman JADO + Petra SÖRLING)
Ultra 2 (Mahmud JADO + Steve DAINTON)
After a tough competition, we got our winners!
Gold for Bank Al Etihad 1 - Samer NUQOL + Jörgen PERSSON
Silver for Toyota 2 - Ghassan AYYASH + Massimo COSTANTINI
Congratulations to all winners and participants!
“Amman Corporate Cup was extremely professional, well organised, and world-class. This event maximises the benefits of positive reciprocity between companies and the ITTF Foundation, sportsmanship, camaraderie, synergy and the right team spirit. We look forward to playing table tennis at our office and continue doing so for a longer term.” - Siad Malhas, Toyota Jordan.
The Amman Corporate Cup has fundraised more than 50,000 JOD or 65,000 USD (and still counting!).
With sincerest appreciation, we thank:
- Seven Jordan companies contributed to the inaugural ITTF Foundation Table Tennis Corporate Cup in Amman, Jordan:
- HRH Princess Zeina Rashid of Jordan for her continuous support of our work
- Jordan Table Tennis Federation and its President, Tarik Al Zouby
- Petra Sörling, ITTF and ITTF Foundation President
- Steve Dainton, Group CEO, for his contribution and being the main individual donor year after year
- New ITTF Athlete Commission and table tennis stars present:
- Sharath Kamal Achanta
- Liu Shiwen
- Stefan Fegerl
- Kelly Van Zon
- Ingela Lundback
- Ryu Seung-Min
- Max Costantini
- Galia Dvorak
- Jean Michel-Saive
- Abdulrahman Jado
- Mahmud Jado
- Jonny Cowen, ITTF Summit Master of Ceremony and WTT Marketing Manager, for leading the event and creating a joyful ambience throughout the Summit
The first Corporate Cup in Amman was momentous and historic. But this is not the first time Jordan has served as the venue of an important milestone for the ITTF Foundation. Back in 2018, the World Table Tennis Day celebrations were held at Jordan’s Za'atari Refugee Camp. Along with it, we launched our ongoing table tennis programme for Syrian refugees.
At the Corporate Cup, two participants of the Za'atari programme, Abdulrahman Jado and his son, Mahmud Jado, played along with the ITTF Foundation President and ITTF Group CEO. It was impressive to watch them enjoying the tournament greatly and having a special encounter with top-class players.
Following the success of the Amman Corporate Cup, we will continue TT@Work as our flagship fundraising campaign. In the upcoming year, TT@Work online platform will be available for companies as a venue for the competition, where they can also enter the game results to automatically generated rankings and statistics.
We look forward to seeing you in the next Corporate Cup in your country!