Aspire students pose with their certificates during a gala dinner organised to celebrate ‘Football Dreams’ programme of the Aspire Academy in Doha.
By Sport Reporter/Doha
Aspire Academy held a gala dinner in the Torch Hotel Doha to celebrate the Grand Final of the Sixth edition of its ‘Aspire Football Dreams’ programme, the world’s largest scouting project in football.
Present at the gala dinner were Tariq Abdulaziz al-Naama, Aspire Zone vice-president; Ivan Bravo, director general, Aspire Academy; Andreas Bleicher, director, international Affairs and the two guests of honour, Spanish football legend Raul Gonzales and Serbian coach Bora Multinuvic who coached five countries in the World Cup finals.
This sixth edition selected 32 young talented boys born in 1999 from 12 countries across three continents; Asia, Africa and Latin America. They are from Thailand Vietnam, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Paraguay, Nigeria, Ghana, Senegal, Ivory Coast, Guinea Conakry, Kenya, and Uganda; who came to train with, and play against, each other at Aspire Academy as well as playing friendly games against their age group from the giant Spanish club of FC Barcelona.
The top 32 boys were brought to Qatar to enjoy a two-week trial and condensed training programme, including friendly games against the youth team of FC Barcelona. They were accompanied by 62 young players from previous editions representing the three age groups: 1995, 1996, 1997 and 1998 born talents.
Aspire’s football coaching staff worked hand-in-hand with the programme’s scouts and country co-ordinators, headed by programme director Josep Colomer. The 32 selected boys trained and played under the watchful eyes of the coaching staff, who introduced them to the latest coaching methods and techniques.
During their time in Doha, the boys have benefited from Aspire’s sports science facilities. These include hi-tech equipment, physical tests, fitness tests, scanning and medical treatments. They have also taken advantage of the leisure time programme arranged for them by the Academy.
The boys were accommodated in the Academy’s boarding school dormitory, whose standard is that of a top class hotel.
A healthy and balanced diet was also provided to them by the academy’s catering staff and under the supervision of the academy’s specialised team of dieticians.
The 32 boys born in 1999 as well as the 62 others from other age groups benefited during their two weeks stay in Doha from the advanced health services of Aspetar, Qatar’s orthopaedic and sports medicine hospital, the only FIFA accredited sports medicine centre in the Middle East region.
The Aspire Football Dreams program started back in 2007, with 7 countries in Africa and now reaches 12 countries on 3 continents to give hope to thousands of children in these developing countries to fulfill their dreams to reach the heights of international football.
At the end of the gala dinner, which started with the projection of a video showcasing some actions from the yearlong scouting process, the boys were presented by their certificates and a ball signed by Raul Gonzales.