Aspetar has once again proven its global leadership in sports medicine field in 2020 despite the Covid-19 pandemic. Despite the challenges, Aspetar has marched towards excellence in the world of sports medicine through its distinct and eminent medical projects as well as international recognitions making it the leading sports medicine hospital in the world.


Covid-19 protocol brings back life to sport in Qatar
In May this year, Aspetar issued a set of guidelines for returning to sports, which has been considered a glimmer of hope for many professional athletes and sports enthusiasts after all sports activities in the world were suspended for more than two months. Aspetar Protocol contributed to resume sports activity in the country, where the release included updated guidelines and pathways for a safe return to sports training and competition in the light of the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic.
In collaboration with its partners at MoPH, Aspetar has contributed to the safe return of sports activities and the protocol has been applied since last June in most sports activities in the country, whether local or international. These sports guidelines are considered a reference for healthcare practitioners in clubs and various sports disciplines in Qatar.
Recently, the protocol was applied in many sports competitions in Qatar, mainly in the Amir Cup at Al Rayyan stadium, one of the 2022 World Cup Stadiums, and the Asian Champions League competitions, held in Qatar.
Aspetar has launched a unique and interactive online platform for athletes related to Covid-19 pandemic. It is considered the first in the world to target athletes and workers in various medical and sports sectors, by providing important information based on evidence and scientific research from reliable scientific sources.
As part of its efforts to protect athletes’ well-being, Aspetar introduced a new assessment for athletes who contracted Covid-19 to return to play after cardiology clearance.
Aspetar recently organised a recognition ceremony for 40 Aspetar employees (Nursing and Laboratory Staff) who were on secondment to HMC in support of fight against Covid-19.


Exercise remotely… Qatar’s stars join Aspetar initiative
In recognition of its pioneering role in providing outstanding health services, and for contributing to the health education of athletes during the Covid-19 pandemic outbreaks, Aspetar has posted detailed videos for exercising from home, to maintain fitness and protect their immune system during their stay at home. This initiative witnessed the participation of Qatari sports stars where they contributed to the service of sport and society in light of the outbreak of the pandemic and to overcome its consequences positively by urging everyone to remain active and productive using preventive measures and to stay at home during that period.
Several Qatari and international sports stars have joined the Aspetar Community Initiative, providing remote fitness exercises to athletes as well as the public, aiming to positively influence fitness maintenance during their stay at home.
Nasser bin Saleh al-Attiyah, Qatar’s rally superstar, is the latest to join Aspetar’s initiative. The world rally champion provided a series of exercises along with Aspetar experts. Qatari athletes, Mariam Farid and Ahmed Tijan player of Qatari beach volleyball team are also participating in this initiative.
The list of participants also include other Qatari sports stars such as professional Qatari boxer, Sheikh Fahad bin Khalid bin Jassim al-Thani, who practices in a light weight medium under the umbrella of the Association of Professional Boxers in Spain, Ahmed Morgan, Qatari beach handball player. Rider Saeed al-Sulaiti, Al Rayyan footballer Sebastian Soria, athlete Rima Taha in addition to many other stars.


International accreditations and recognitions
Aspetar is one of the few hospitals accredited by both the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and FIFA. This year marked successful re-accreditation of Aspetar as FIFA Medical Centre of Excellence (FMEC) for another four years. Aspetar has joined the AFC network of reference medical centres as a distinguished medical centre in the AFC medical network launched in 2018 to provide the best healthcare for footballers in Asia through the recognition of the outstanding medical centres in Asia. This demonstrate Aspetar’s leadership in clinical research and educational expertise as well as injury prevention measures as well as the best sports medicine destination.
Moreover, Aspetar provided medical support for the AFC Champions League, held on two separate tournaments for the East and West regions. As a reference centre, Aspetar provided doctors to five participating clubs, as they were unable to bring their doctors to Doha for different reasons, which confirmed the excellence of the Qatari hospital continentally.
On other hand, the organising committee of the Diamond League-Doha 2020 praised Aspetar for the medical services provided to the elite athletes participating during this year’s meeting, held on Friday 25 September, after it was postponed last May due to Covid-19. In recognition of its outstanding efforts to contribute to the return of football activity affected by the Covid-19 pandemic, Aspetar received the Qatar Football Association (QFA) ‘Football for All’ Award for the 2019-20 season in appreciation of its efforts in the resumption of football activity during the pandemic.
“The systematic review and meta-analysis” scientific study published by Aspetar surgery department won the prestigious Systematic Review award 2019-2020 from the American Orthopaedic Society for Sports Medicine.
In preparation for the FIFA World Cup, Qatar 2022, Aspetar in collaboration with the Ministry of Public Health launched the National Clinical Guidelines (NCG) for dental injuries in professional sports to help in developing the oral health services to be provided for all athletes.
The guidelines developed by Aspetar, led by Dr Mohamed al-Saey, Director of Aspetar Sports Dentistry and a Consultant in Oral Surgery highlight the most important principles of Sports Dentistry, dental athlete screening, along with diagnosis, prevention and treatment of dental injuries.


perfect destination 
for football stars
In recent years, world football stars continue to flock to Aspetar as an ideal destination for treatment and best sports medicine services with the highest standards, as the centre gaining the trust of athletes and sports stars in various world leagues.
Borussia Dortmund star and The Norwegian team member, Eirling Haaland, has completed his treatment plan at Aspetar, the world’s leading specialised orthopaedic and sports medicine hospital in Qatar, and will be soon declared fit to play. 
Because of the Covid-19 pandemic, many countries and regions have imposed quarantines, entry bans, or other restrictions for travellers, even though many athletes have shown their keenness to be treated at Aspetar.
Athletes who participated in Qatar’s international competitions have benefited from the services that Aspetar offers, such as athletics stars and Asian footballers participating in the Asian Champions League.
The list of football players who have chosen Aspetar for treatment includes World Cup champions with France national team, Samuel Ummiti, Kylian Mbappe and recently, Ousmane Dembele in addition to many PSG players such as the Brazilian star Neymar da Silva. “Aspetar is incredible and the infrastructure is perfect to work and recover, everything is optimised for the athletes at its best,” said Kylian Mbappe, the French league’s top scorer of the season.
Many Premier League players including: Tottenham Hotspur promising English player Harry Winks and his teammate, the Welsh player Ben Davies were the latest who are being treated at Aspetar, in addition to a large number of Liverpool players such as Jordan Henderson, Adam Lallana and Naby Keita.


 Strong international 
partnerships
Aspetar has strong ties with many partners worldwide, including leading sports organisations such as FIFA and the International Olympic Committee (IOC). A few days ago, the FIFA Medical Director visited the hospital as one of the centres accredited by FIFA as well as to inspect Aspetar’s readiness for the World Cup Qatar 2022.
Aspetar is also one of the IOC’s most prominent partners in organising the 5th World Conference on The Prevention of Injuries and Diseases in Sport, which was postponed until the end of next year due to the Covid-19 Outbreak.
Locally, Aspetar has strengthened its role as an effective partner of the Qatar Football Association and the Qatar Stars League and has expanded its network of teaching and scientific research collaborators, joining HBKU to Qatar University, the North Atlantic, Weill Cornell and other educational institutions that share knowledge and experience.
In sports field, Aspetar’s partnership with the Algerian Football Federation has continued for the 11th year successively, the outstanding partnership comes against the backdrop of the remarkable brilliance of the Algerian national team “Desert warriors”, the champion of Africa, in addition to scientific partnerships with prestigious European clubs such as FC Barcelona, Paris Saint-Germain and Tottenham FC.


Pioneering and outstanding scientific research
Aspetar continuously enriches the scientific scene, publishing more than 100 scientific peer reviewed articles and researches annually authored by experts from different disciplines, and these experts contribute to the stages of planning, implementation and dissemination. Aspetar is keen through these studies to integrate the latest research and clinical practices derived from the experiences of the teams working in sports fields and within the hospital. Aspetar research tops the agenda of many local, regional and international conferences and scientific events.
While Aspetar has been one of the world’s leading football research institutions in recent years, five Aspetar experts are among the top 10 global researchers in the field by 2020.