Aspire’s school football festival a success

Aspire Academy celebrated the end of its annual School Festival Football Tournament 2017 in Aspire Dome, the world’s largest indoor multi-purpose dome.In all, 32 local independent and private schools took part in the tournament. Al Furqan School clinched the title after a convincing victory against Al Wafaa School in the final. Young student Hussain Ali Hussain from Al Wafaa School was named as the tournament’s ‘Best Player.’ The festival was organised by Aspire Academy’s Football Skill Development Centre (FSDC) and featured young students born in 2009 who competed in matches held simultaneously from 9:00am to 12:00pm.The tournament is designed to provide a platform for talented youngsters to showcase their skills and support their athletic development and sporting potential. It comprises an important part of the Academy’s mission to produce leading local athletes.Participating schools competed in two categories – one for independent schools and one for private schools.The festival was attended by a number of senior representatives from Aspire Academy including Badr al-Hay, Director of Education and Student Care, Ali Sultan Fakhroo, Director of Corporate Services, Jassem al-Jaber, School Principal, Saeed al-Marri, Football Affairs Manager, Nasser al-Ahbabi, Head of the Football Skill Development Centre (FSDC) Administration and  Muneera al-Abdullah, Finance Manager.  In addition, a number of coaches from the Academy refereed the matches and oversaw the students’ participation.Former footballer and all-time top scorer for the Qatar national team Mansour Muftah also attended the event. He stayed until the closing ceremony to congratulate the winning team on their victory.He praised the tournament organisers and commended the Academy on the role it plays in encouraging young athletes to play sports. Commenting on tournament, Nasser al-Ahbabi, Head of the Football Skill Development Centre (FSDC) Administration, said: “This festival reflects the efforts made by the FSDC to identify and develop young players all-year round and highlights the success of our ongoing partnership with local schools to support young emerging talent.”Al-Ahbabi also praised the team from Aspire Academy for their dedication and diligence in ensuring the success of the tournament, expressing his thanks to Fatima al-Nuaimi, Ghada al-Mas and Ghada Saliba, Football Administrators at the FSDC at the Academy.