MEDIA RELEASE PR38217
ASPIRE Academy Hosts Grand Finals of "ASPIRE Football Dreams"
DOHA, Feb. 12 / PRNewswire-AsiaNet/ --
- Third Edition of ASPIRE Program Covers Three Continents
ASPIRE Academy for Sports Excellence in Doha, Qatar, has been hosting the
Grand Finals of "ASPIRE Football Dreams", the world's largest-ever
scouting program in football, from 17th January to 11th February 2010.
To view the Multimedia News Release, please click:
This third edition of "ASPIRE Football Dreams" has added three
new countries to the 12 which were represented last year. Young, talented
boys, born between 1994 and 1996, from Thailand, Costa Rica and Guatemala
joined those from Vietnam, Paraguay, Cameroon, Nigeria, Ghana, Senegal, Ivory
Coast, Mali, Kenya, Tanzania Uganda and Rwanda to train with, and play
against, each other.
A total of 38 boys have enjoyed a month-long trial and
condensed training program, including friendly games against ASPIRE football
students and the youth teams of Bayern Munich and VfB Stuttgart. In addition,
they have benefited from ASPIRE's sports science facilities. These include
hi-tech equipment, physical tests, fitness tests, scanning and medical
treatments. They have also taken advantage of the leisure time program
arranged for them by the Academy. The boys were accommodated in the Academy's
boarding school dormitory, whose standard is that of a top class hotel. A
healthy and balanced diet was also provided by the Academy's catering staff.
ASPIRE's football coaching staff worked hand-in-hand with the
program's scouts and country coordinators, headed by Program Director Josep
Colomer. The 38 selected boys trained and played under the watchful eyes of
the coaching staff, who introduced them to the latest coaching methods and
techniques.
A gala dinner was held on 8th February 2010, at which the 38 boys on the course were presented with
certificates of achievement by Tariq Al-Naama, ASPIRE Acting Director General, and Serbian coach Bora
Milutinovic, ambassador of the Qatar 2022 World Cup Bid. The audience included the boys' parents and
relatives, who had been specially invited by ASPIRE, as well as the ambassadors or chiefs of mission from the
countries involved in the project. Also present was Ghana's Minister of Youth and Sports, Abdul-Rashid
Hassan Pelpuo, who brought with him the Under-20 World Cup trophy which his country won last October.
The minister was accompanied by a member of the victorious Ghana side, John Benson, himself a former
student at ASPIRE.
Following the end of this year's "ASPIRE Football Dreams"
program, the Academy's football experts will nominate at least three of the
boys to be granted full scholarship to the Academy. Those not nominated, and
if willing to do so, will be sent to ASPIRE's football academy in Senegal.
This ASPIRE program started back in 2006, under the name of
"ASPIRE Africa Football Dreams" and focused exclusively on the African
continent. But, in the second edition, it was broadened to cover Vietnam in
Asia, and Paraguay in Latin America.
In this year's third edition, the program has spread its wings
wider still, to add Thailand in Asia, and Costa Rica and Guatemala in Latin
America, so covering, in-depth, 15 countries spread over three continents. In
doing so, the program has used the services of 7,000 volunteers, in
combination with highly qualified professional coaches and scouts.
More than 600,000 young boys attended, between them playing
around 35,000 games organized on more than 850 pitches spread throughout the
15 countries involved. Registration to take part was free, and was open to
boys born between 1994 and 1996. An original birth certificate or original
school registration was all that was required as proof of age.
Dr Andreas Bleicher, Executive Director International Affairs,
ASPIRE said "Everyone in football is aware of the significant footballing
talent that exists in developing countries and also of the challenges that
can prevent this talent reaching its full potential. ASPIRE offers a new
window of opportunity for those players who have the talent and dedication
necessary to succeed at the highest levels of international football. To
reach this objective, ASPIRE cooperates closely with the involved national
football associations and supports the players in playing for their relevant
national teams, and to also benefit their home countries from a sporting
point of view."
ASPIRE Media Information
Notes to Editors:
Created in 2004, the ASPIRE Academy for Sports Excellence in Doha has the
dual aims of identifying and transforming promising student athletes into
world-renowned champions across a wide range of sports and to act as a beacon
to draw sporting culture into the centre of life in Qatar and the surrounding
region.
The Academy is distinguished by a philosophy which aims to develop the
student as a whole, providing them with full academic, social and sporting
development.
Unrivalled facilities, housed in and around the world's largest purpose
built indoor sports dome, ensure the Academy's reputation as one of the
foremost sporting and educational institutions in the entire international
community, enticing an ever-increasing number of visitors and users, from
sporting legends to global political leaders.
Every aspect of the development of elite athletes is catered for by one
indoor and seven outdoor football pitches, athletics tracks, an Olympic-sized
swimming pool, diving pool, combat arenas, gymnastics arena, specially
fitness weight rooms, lecture halls, dormitories to accommodate what will
eventually become 1,000 students, a medical centre and many more facilities.
Launched in 2007, the ASPIRE Football Dreams project has annually tests
over 600.000 young footballers from all over the world including Asia, South
America and Africa, as part of the largest ever talent search within the
sport.
The ASPIRE ACTIVE initiative is a community engagement program spread
across the country, ensuring that thousands of the nation's residents have
accessible and advanced health and fitness activities as routine aspects of
their lives. Each social group is catered for by tailor-made classes and
programs.
For all media enquiries (Arabic and English) and high resolution images
contact:
Hassan Esbaiss
E: hassan.esbaiss@aspire.qa
M: +974-521-9545
SOURCE: Aspire Academy for Sports Excellence
NEWS 
