The latest edition of the Tri-Series football tournament organised by Aspire Academy has successfully drawn to a close. Taking place between 19th – 21st February, the competition saw Aspire Academy’s U-18 and U-16 players compete against visiting teams from Shandong Luneng FC (China), Leeds United FC (England), whilst Aspire Academy’s U-17 team competed against Shandong Luneng FC and Apoel FC (Cyprus).
Aspire Academy’s U-16 team dominated its group after defeating Shandong Luneng FC 1 – 0 in the opening match and then securing victory over Leeds United FC by a margin of 3 goals to 1 in their second match.
Meanwhile, a 1 – 1 draw against Apoel FC left Aspire Academy’s U17 youth team in second place, losing out on post-match penalties. In their opening match, Aspire’s team impressed during a 3 – 0 win over Shandong Luneng FC, who finished in third place. The Academy’s U-18 team also secured second place in their group after defeating Shandong Luneng FC, and losing 2 – 0 against Leeds United FC, who proved to be a tough side to beat.
Commenting on their participation in the tournament, Apoel FC Academy Manager, Georgios Markides, praised the facilities at Aspire Zone, and Aspire Academy’s hospitality and organisation saying: “We’re delighted to be invited to take part in the Tri-Series tournament and it has been a very good experience for us in Qatar to play against sides from Aspire Academy and Shandong Luneng FC. It’s our first time here [in Qatar]. This rich experience will really help our youngsters develop further as players. Both Aspire and Shandong Luneng played good football and pushed our teams hard. I’m pleased with our competitive spirit and delighted that our U-17 side came top of their group. We’re returning home with some very positive memories and valuables lessons learned.”
Meanwhile, Leeds United FC Academy Director, Adam Underwood added: “Our participation is part of our existing and ongoing partnership with Aspire Academy. Both our institutions are very much focused on youth development and we intend to explore further areas of co-operation for our mutual benefit as we seek to identify and nurture talented young footballers capable of successfully playing at the top level for their clubs and countries.”
Representatives from Shandong Luneng FC, one of the top youth academies in China, also expressed their gratitude for the invitation from Aspire Academy to participate in the tournament.
The preceding round of the Tri-Series tournament featured teams of young players from Aspire Academy born in 2003, 2004 and 2005 who competed against their age mates from Japanese Club Shonan Bellmare and Red Bull Salzburg from Austria.
The Tri-Series is an annual year-round series of weekly competitions that features youth teams from all over the world competing against teams from Aspire Academy. Since it was established in 2012, the competition has played a vital role in the development of youth teams at Aspire Academy. The Tri-Series provides coaches at Aspire Academy with a useful benchmark against which to evaluate and compare the Academy’s student-athletes’ performance.
Each season, the Tri-Series attracts club teams, national youth teams and other academy teams. The number of teams that have visited Aspire Academy to take part in competitions has grown steadily since it was launched in 2012. Over 35 foreign clubs and federations took part in last year’s tournament.
Participating teams are carefully selected by Aspire Academy based on a thorough evaluation of the standard of youth development programmes in their own countries as well as their profile and backgrounds.
Aspire Academy aims to involve their student-athletes in competitions against some of the best teams in the world, giving them the opportunity to learn from as many different footballing styles and systems as possible.