MEDIA RELEASE PR37874
End Of Manchester United's Training Camp at Aspire
DOHA, Jan. 14 /PRNewswire-AsiaNet/ --
- "A Memorable Experience" Says Boss Sir Alex Ferguson
English Premier League champions Manchester United have
described their training camp at ASPIRE as a great success, with manager Sir
Alex Ferguson calling the visit "a memorable experience."
The Reds had decided to escape from the snow and ice that has
gripped the UK, and most of Europe, for nearly a fortnight and take advantage
of the blue skies and warm sunshine of Doha. During their stay, they also
took advantage of some of the state-of-the-art facilities available to them
at ASPIRE.
United held several training sessions on the outdoor football
pitches - a mixture of stretching and running exercises, ball work, formation
play and practice matches. Their session on Wednesday morning was open to the
public and attracted a large number of visitors from the very young to the
not so young.
ASPIRE's gym was also put to use, with the players being put
through their paces under the watchful eye of Sir Alex and his coaching
assistants.
Sir Alex also found time to meet and talk to ASPIRE's own
football coaches, giving them an insight into his thoughts on tactics and
methods. ASPIRE's Head Football Coach, Michael Browne, said: "We all found
Sir Alex's comments informative and interesting. It was a very useful
exercise."
After their final, and probably most strenuous, work-out at
ASPIRE, the players were invited on a short tour of the academy, were
presented with mementos of their visit, and signed shirts were exchanged.
Sir Alex signed ASPIRE's Wall of Fame (as did Michael Owen)
and then commented in the Visitors' Book:
"On behalf of all my players and staff, may we thank you for
such a memorable experience. ASPIRE's complex is without question the best I
have ever seen. Not only that, the operation is so well managed that it has
made our stay very easy and relaxed. We hope that this journey is not our
last here and that it will initiate a true bond between Manchester United F.
C. and our friends at ASPIRE and in Qatar."
He then publicly thanked the officials of ASPIRE for making
their stay both possible and so enjoyable - and reiterated his hope that the
visit would mark the beginning of a good relationship between the club and
ASPIRE.
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.
ASPIRE Media Information
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 
