Luiz Felipe Scolari, former coach of the Brazilian national team and current national team coach for Portugal, and Argentine international footballer Lionel Messi are among the major footballing figures in Qatar this weekend at the ASPIRE Academy for Excellence, Doha.
Scolari began his visit to the ASPIRE Dome with a training session with the 24 successful players from “ASPIRE Africa. Football Dreams”, the world’s largest football talent search.
As the coach who led the Brazilian national team to victory in the 2002 World Cup and head coach of the Portuguese national team since 2003, Felipão ("Big Phil") has worked with many of world football’s leading young players.
The 24 boys – who have been picked from over 400,000 participants in seven different African nations – were advised to concentrate equally on developing football skills and working hard on their education.
Scolari advised the boys to “always remember the other school” – coaching them about the importance of working to improve their intellectual abilities as well as their talents on the pitch.
Discussing the future development of soccer for Asia, Africa, and the Middle East, Scolari praised the efforts of institutions like ASPIRE and its ongoing work, both in the region and in Africa.
Scolari said: “It’s important to reach players at a young age, and to begin training them as soon as possible using the best facilities available. This project offers the potential to provide both the expertise and international exposure required to develop truly great footballers.”
“African football in particular has the potential to be the best in the world, if young players can show the discipline required and if African Football can increase its level of organisation accordingly. ASPIRE AFRICA contributes to this organisation and development.”
Lionel Messi is set to practice with the ASPIRE Africa team on Sunday 13 January. Following that session, there will be a match between the under-15 team of leading Portuguese club FC Porto and the ASPIRE Africa under-14 team.
Dr. Andreas Bleicher, Sports Director, ASPIRE, said: “The input of a coach of Scolari’s stature into the training programme of the ASPIRE Africa student athletes will have a significant impact. His support for the programme demonstrates how widely this project is being recognised as making an important contribution to world soccer.”
Major Conference continues
As well as the soccer matches, ASPIRE is hosting a major sport science conference. The conference – New Approaches for Advancement in Elite Sports – aims to bring together many of the world’s leading experts on youth development in sport to discuss the most effective methods for developing, promoting and training talented sportspeople.
This event is the second major Sport Science Conference hosted by ASPIRE and organized by Prof. Dr. Dieter Hackfort, Dean of ASPIRE , a world-renowned Sport Scientist and President of the International Society of Sport Psychology.
Prof. Dr. Dieter Hackfort said: “We’re delighted to welcome leading professionals and experts from a broad range of fields to this event.”
Early sessions in the conference focused on the importance of early specialisation and talent development for ensuring long-term success in young athletes. In addition, Istvan Balyi, the world renowned coaching educator, examined issues related to “periodization” in sports for junior athletes.
Other papers, for example by Prof. Dr. Jean Cote from Canada, focused on the role of sports academies and new technology in developing young talent.
Speakers at the conference include Prof. Dr. Jean Cote, of Queen’s University of Kingston, Canada; Prof. Dr. Thomas Schack of the Bielefeld University, Germany; Prof. Dr. Paul Wylleman, President of the European Federation for Psychology and Physical Activity (FEPSAC); Prof. Dr. Karl Newell from the US and Prof. Dr. Natalia Stambulova, of Halmstad University, Sweden.
About ASPIRE
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 center of life in Qatar and the surrounding region.
The Academy is distinguished by a philosophy which aims to develop the whole student, providing them with full academic, social and sporting development.
Unrivaled facilities housed in and around the world’s largest purpose built indoor sports dome ensure the Academy’s reputation out 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 center and many more facilities.
The ASPIRE Active programs and the work of Talent Centers 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.
As of 2007, the ASPIRE Africa. Football Dreams project has tested over 600,000 young Africans from seven nations as part of the biggest-ever talent search in the sport. The top three footballers will be 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.
