Football has long been Qatar’s most popular sport, and it received a massive boost ever since the country won the rights to host the 2022 FIFA World Cup and the exciting Asian Cup title win this year.
Simultaneously, there has been a strong focus on local football clubs and academies that have been trying to up the game at the grassroots level.
Nawaf al-Mudahka, a former Qatar national football team player, always had a dream of setting up a football club where both children and adults could develop their skills and have a better chance of playing top notch football.
After he finished playing, al-Mudahka wanted to do more for the sport, and thus, a local football club and an academy to nurture aspiring players were born.
He brought extensive knowledge and experience to the club, following a successful career in professional football that spanned over many years.
“I left Qatar national team in 2008 after playing for the country for almost eight years. I’ve taken a path that is normally not followed by most players, and I feel this experience has made a huge impact on me,”al-Mudahka told Gulf Times.
“We entered the Qatar Amateur League (QAL) third division in 2014 with an ambitious five-year plan to take a grassroots team from an amateur club to pro status by introducing professional structures and coaching method,” al-Mudahka, who is also the president of Lusail Football Club, said.
“And the result was evident when the club won the QAL third division title in 2018.”
Armed with the confidence and excitement of winning the third division title last year, the club are currently playing in the second division of the league. Al-Mudahka is quite pleased with such encouraging progress, and stressed, “We believe we should be able to win the second division soon. All our players are Qatar nationals and if you look at the quality of players we have and their potential, there has been a substantial overall development as a team.”
Speaking about the club’s new strategy, al-Mudahka said, “Our strategy is to win the second division of QSL within three years, and first division within five years. And Insha’Allah, we will participate in the Asian clubs championship within 7-8 years.”
 
ACADEMY’S AIM
As with all sports, dedication, endurance and skill are foremost in football. Though this alone too is not always enough to succeed at a professional level, and dreams of many young hopefuls have shattered because they simply did not get the right training and guidance they needed.
“At Lusail Academy, we take players from a young age to adults and prepare them for our future national team. Since inception, the academy has gone from strength to strength and this year looks to be a year of exciting opportunity and continued growth. Our simple goal is for everyone to get more out of football, no matter what level they are at. We want to take this message across the country,” al-Mudahka explained.
Currently, the academy has signed up with a number of private schools in Qatar to train their students, including Doha English Speaking School, Oryx International School, Nord Anglia International School, Mesaieed International School, Al Wataniya International School, Al Khor Academy, RGS Guildford, and Dukhan English School.
Speaking about the objective of the academy, al-Mudahka said, “Our main plan is to be the ‘right hand’ for Aspire Academy. We make players ready to join Aspire. This way Aspire spends less time on these players and ultimately makes them ready for the national team with more ease.”
Identifying and developing talent is one of the key things to consider when managing a team, as on the sporting field or in a training class. Al-Mudahka believes talent is both born and bred.
“Whatever I do today is what my mentor Tariq al-Naama (current vice president, Aspire Zone Foundation) taught me. I learned a lot from him. He taught me many things about football which I try to disseminate through my club and academy.
“And we are extremely thankful to Qatar Football Association President HE Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa bin Ahmed al-Thani for giving us the chance and trusting us in our mission to promote future football stars in Qatar,” al-Mudahka added. “Those who want to join us, let us know and together we can do a lot for our great sporting country.”
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