Global sporting greats praise Aspire4Sport in London

Aspire4SportCongress and Exhibition made a successful opening at Chelsea’s StamfordBridge in London yesterday. The two-day event is designed to shape thefuture of the sports industry, enhance the fan experience and spreadbest practice in athlete development. In attendance were theMinister of Culture and Sports His Excellency Salah bin Ghanem binNasser al-Ali, Qatar’s ambassador to the United Kingdom, Yousef bin Alial-Khater, the Supreme Committee for Delivery & Legacy (SC)secretary general Hassan al-Thawadi and Chelsea chairman Bruce Buck. TheAspire Academy welcomed some of the world’s leading tech companies,major European and Qatari sports industry professionals, as well asrepresentatives from 80 of the world’s most prestigious football clubsthat form part of the Aspire in the World Fellows community, making itone of the most influential gatherings of its kind in the world. Thecommunity includes Manchester United, Arsenal, Barcelona, Real Madrid,Paris Saint-Germain, AC Milan and Juventus among others. Amongsporting greats in attendance, included former Italian coach ArrigoSacchi, former Newcastle United coach Kevin Keegan, as well as AspireAcademy graduate, and Qatar’s high jumping world champion Mutaz Barshim.Former Netherland international footballer Ronald de Boer was also inattendance. “It’s a great event which has been really wellorganised. I think the event is really important as it will help peopleto evolve and to improve. Listening to others, comparing with others,it’s something that will make you better,” Sacchi, who managed one ofthe greatest AC Milan teams of all time, said.One of the majorthemes from the first day was the 2022 FIFA World Cup Qatar, with afocus on the progress being made both on and off the field by the Qatarinational football team, and the development of the Qatar’s stadiums inthe run up to the event.In a Star Chat, hosted by Sky Sports’ HayleyMcQueen, Keegan said that he believes the World Cup will be a success.“I think Qatar will surprise a lot of people with the World Cup. I thinkit will be a great world cup, no doubt about it,” he said.Inanother Star Chat later in that day, Barshim discussed his intention toinspire future generation of athletes to do great things, both in Qatarand around the world.“I want to be remembered for being the greatestever. I want to be someone that inspires people to get out and dosomething with their life,” he said.He also highlighted howpartnering with the Aspire Academy has helped him to not only competewith the best athletes in the world, but to beat them, as he did bywinning gold at the most recent World Championships held in London.Hesaid: “The Aspire Academy is the pillar for sportspeople in Doha. Notjust in football but also for athletics. At the Aspire Academy, thereare so many people working hard to make sure Qatar has athletesperforming at the highest level.“The most important thing theAcademy taught me was self-confidence. It changed my mindset as anathlete, as I started to see myself as a professional athlete in mymind.“Another thing they gave me is time. Some parents think sport is a waste of time; you should concentrate on studies.“Butwith the Aspire Academy, I didn’t have to choose. I received both thebest sports training and an education delivered to the highest standard.Here you have everything in the same place, along with the best coachesand the best facilities.”