The Asian Football Confederation’s (AFC) commitment towards ensuring world-class healthcare to the Continent’s teams and players was further underlined with the recognition of Aspetar, Orthopaedic and Sports Medicine Hospital in Qatar as part of the AFC’s Medical Centre of Excellence network in a virtual ceremony held today.
Aspetar will now be part of the network of established medical centres under the AFC Medical Centre of Excellence which was launched in 2018 to provide better healthcare for the Continent’s footballers by recognising medical centres in Asia which demonstrate leadership in clinical research and education expertise as well as injury-prevention and management measures.
AFC President Shaikh Salman bin Ebrahim Al Khalifa said: “The AFC’s Vision and Mission has set out our objectives to ensure the success of our teams, players and officials and sports medicine plays an important role in this journey.
“As one of our long-standing partners, Aspetar has already grown to take its position as one of the leaders in protecting the wellbeing of players and the AFC would like to thank Aspetar and the Qatar Football Association for sharing our belief and Vision.”
Echoing the AFC President’s message, AFC General Secretary Dato’ Windsor John, in a special video message to Aspetar, added: “World-class teams and players require world-class medical treatment and care and there has never been a sharper focus on the health, wellbeing, and rehabilitation of our players than during this pandemic.
“Asia is a vast Continent and sports medicine is a constantly evolving discipline, so it is vital that we continue to expand our network of AFC Medical Centres of Excellence to ensure that more players can gain greater access to the highest standards of medical attention and treatment.
“The AFC acknowledges the crucial role of Aspetar and all our Medical Centres of Excellence in raising the standards in sports science and medicine in Asia and their commitment to the care of players. We are confident that with this recognition, Aspetar will continue to elevate football and sports medicine through education and research collaboration in the Continent.”
As one of the AFC’s long-standing partners, Aspetar continues to support the development of Asian football by contributing to sports medicine knowledge and scientific research, and by organising several key scientific events.
The AFC and Aspetar have also been collaborating on several projects for more than a decade, including the initiation of the AFC/Aspetar Injury and Illness Surveillance Study in 2017 and organising a series of medical conferences and workshops.
As the first FIFA Medical Centre of Excellence accredited in the Middle East, Aspetar’s partnership with the AFC has enabled major advances in the treatment and care of Asian footballers. This includes the development of football medicine, applied research and player education across the Continent as well as supporting players from the grassroots to the elite level.
Mohammed Khalifa Al Suwaidi, Aspetar General Director, said: “It is an honour to receive such a high recognition of our work and expertise and to join such an exclusive network of sports medicine centres of excellence.
“We are one of the leading sports medicine centres in the world, we believe at Aspetar that we can bring our experience in sports medicine and sports science to serve football in Asia, there’s so much that can be done,” he added.
Aspetar is the world’s leading specialised sports medicine hospital and is one of few hospitals to have received both FIFA and IOC international recognition.
Since opening its doors, Aspetar has grown into one of the most reputable medical facilities in the delivery of excellence in sports medicine, physiotherapy, sports science, orthopaedic surgery and rehabilitation. The hospital’s mission is to help athletes reach their full potential and achieve optimum performance.
