Qatar can compete with world’s best in 2022: Bravo

Atthe opening of this year’s Aspire4Sport Congress & Exhibition,delegates from the world’s biggest football clubs were told about thehuge progress being made by the Aspire Academy and the Qatar FootballAssociation (QFA) in the build up to the 2022 FIFA World Cup Qatar.AspireAcademy director general Ivan Bravo delivered a speech outliningQatar’s football development programme and the journey Qatar’s youngplayers are undertaking in order to compete with the best teams in theworld in 2022.Speaking at Aspire4Sport he said, “Despite some peoplebeing sceptical about whether Qatar can compete in 2022, we think verydifferently. We have no doubt that the team in 2022 can make thingshappen and compete with some of the best teams playing.”He notedthat QFA has worked with the Aspire Academy to identify a footballingphilosophy that will define how the national team play at the World Cup,with players coached in those playing principles through all stages oftheir development.He said: “We want to be an aggressive team thatplays with depth and width. That has structure and solidarity. All ofour coaches believe we are on a mission. But we want all our players tobelieve in the model so we can compete with the rest.”He noted thatcentral to Qatar’s football development model is instilling a belief inthe players that “the kids from the neighbourhoods in Doha can competewith the rest in the world”.He added: “We want to create a sense ofnational pride in those that want to play for Qatar. We want to see areal passion for wearing the national jersey.”The approach to playerdevelopment has been to ensure that Qatar’s players are constantlyfacing new challenges so that they are prepared for what is to come atthe 2022 FIFA World Cup Qatar.Bravo added: “All these guys are coming up very quickly. Feeling the jersey and feeling the pride.”Onestrategy being implemented by QFA is allowing its youth players tocompete at tournaments against older players, in the belief that facingdifficult challenges early in their career means that they are betterprepared for the challenges that lie ahead. In what is a sign of theprogress being made, players from Qatar recently competing with playersfrom Belgian’s Jupiler Pro League and Spain’s La Liga.