ASPIRE Academy for Sports Excellence football teams provided strong opposition to visiting teams from Cameroon and Chelsea Football Club.
The ASPIRE ’94 side were 3 – 1 winners over a ‘94/’95 side from Chelsea, while student athletes from the academy played in a Qatari national team which was beaten 2 – 1 by the English Premier League youth side.
“We knew it would be a difficult game as in the first game Chelsea had beaten the Qatar National Team and they had played for 40 minutes with only 10 players,” said ASPIRE Football Head Coach, Michael Browne. Although we were missing some of our part-time players due to club games the other boys performed well and deservedly won the game.”
“It was not one of the best performances that the ‘94 team has put on this season but considering that they have not been training with us for several weeks it was still a commendable showing,” he added.
Francis O’Brien , Coach of Chelsea ‘95 said: “As a big English and European team, we have a heavy duty on us, as we represent a big club and everyone wants to beat us. The game against ASPIRE ‘94 put us in that situation. They were very strong in midfield, had an organized defense, and efficient on up front. They created many problems for us.”
“In all, this was a very exciting experience for our boys, to play, visit and spend a week in a completely different country with different culture. We are really pleased with the extraordinary facilities of ASPIRE, which are the best in the world.”
ASPIRE ’94 also played matches against the national academy team from Cameroon. The first match proved hugely exciting, ending in a 2 all draw, while Cameroon managed to win the second match1 – 0.
“The two games against Cameroon were closely contested affairs,” said Browne. “In both games we played with a combination of players from different age groups so as not to disrupt the Qatar Football Association club games. The boys performed well but found it hard to break down opponents who were physically very impressive.”
Paul Duga Dook, head coach of the Cameroon academy said: “It was a great experience for our boys to play here in such great conditions. They played well, we were close to winning the win the first game against ASPIRE ‘94, but a penalty at the end prevented us. In the second game we scored early in the match and managed to conserve it in a front of a good team.”
“Overall, the two games against ASPIRE were very important for both sides, and we are astonished by what we have seen at ASPIRE. It is a pearl of sports in Qatar,” he added.
ASPIRE opened in 2004 to identify and develop sporting talent across Qatar and the surrounding region.
ASPIRE Academy for Sports Excellence in Doha was created in 2004 with 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 designed weight rooms, lecture halls, dormitories to accommodate what will eventually become 1,000 students, a medical centre and many more facilities.
The work of Sports Department Talent Centres and ASPIRE ACTIVE programs spread across the country ensure that thousands of the nation’s residents now 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 Football Dreams has tested young footballers from nine nations as part of the biggest-ever talent search in the sport. The top three footballers are awarded full scholarships to study at the academy alongside their Qatari classmates. First and foremost, ASPIRE is a place for those who dare to dream.
