Angers SCO recently agreed a medical partnership and formalised a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Aspetar, the leading orthopaedic and sports medicine hospital. The MoU was signed by Aspetar’s acting director general Dr Mohamed Ghaith al-Kuwari and Angers Sporting Club de l’Ouest president Said Chabane.
In a clear sign of how significant the development is for the club, two of the team’s star players – Alexandre Letellier and Billy Ketkeophomphone – travelled to Aspetar to receive treatment, accompanied by team physician Anthony Tondut and fitness coach Benoit Pickeu.
Angers is the latest club to enter into such an agreement with Aspetar. The news follows existing partnerships that Aspetar has established with some of Europe’s biggest clubs including Paris Saint-Germain and Tottenham Hotspur.
The agreement confirms the hospital’s status as one of the world’s leading sports medicine institutions, staffed by leading practitioners and researchers. The MoU is a clear testament to the effectiveness of Aspetar’s multidisciplinary approach to athlete management as well as its focus on the comprehensive assessment, treatment and rehabilitation of injured athletes.
A senior delegation led by Chabane and club’s general manager Oliver Pickeu travelled to Doha last month to confirm the terms of the MoU between the club and Aspetar, a FIFA-accredited Medical Centre of Excellence. As part of their visit, delegates were given a comprehensive tour of the hospital’s facilities, and briefed about the services it provides to elite athletes globally.
The agreement will support partnership and collaboration designed to benefit both athletes and patients, and means that Aspetar will provide multidisciplinary clinical sports and medical services to the club’s players. Such services include injury and illness diagnosis, as well as treatment and prevention with a focus on sports surgical treatment and rehabilitation.
In addition, Angers will benefit from sports science services and access to facilities at Aspetar for players from the club including performance assessment, screening, specific testing, nutritional assessment and advice and podiatrists services.
Confirming the agreement, Dr al-Kuwari said, “We’re delighted by the prospect of working so closely with Angers SCO Our team are truly committed to providing first-class medical care to elite athletes and to sharing the benefit of our world-leading expertise. Adding to our existing arrangements with other clubs in Europe and elsewhere, this news is yet further proof of our ability to deliver a multidisciplinary approach to athlete management.”
Chabane added: “We’re very happy to formalise this relationship between our two organisations and begin our journey together in support of the future development and success of our club. We’re fortunate to have an medical provider that offers expertise, clinical skills and an approach to managing athletes that rank amongst the very highest in the world. This partnership bodes extremely well for the future of the club.”
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