The prestigious ASPIRE Academy for Sports Excellence is playing host to one of the biggest football clubs in the world - English Premier League champions Manchester United - in a 4-days training camp at the academy's world class football fields and sports facilities.
Extreme weather conditions, including heavy snow falls and sub-zero temperatures have hit Europe for the past week. That made United manager Sir Alex Ferguson look for warmer climes so that his players would be able to train outdoors, maintain their physical condition and recharge their batteries. Sir Alex had many alternatives to choose from but he and his team have opted for Qatar, and more precisely for the ASPIRE Academy's state-of-the art facilities.
Commenting on Manchester United's presence at ASPIRE, Director General, Tariq Abdulaziz Al-Naama said:"We, at ASPIRE, are very delighted to warmly welcome such a big team at our premises. We thank the Manchester United management for choosing Qatar and ASPIRE for their camp. In our turn, we will do all the best to make their camp and visit to our academy and our country a successful one."
The Reds started their 4 days' training camp at ASPIRE on Monday, January 11th, finishing on Thursday, January 14th, 2010. Explaining the choice of Qatar, and ASPIRE in particular, team manager, Sir Alex Ferguson said:"I have heard a lot about the fantastic facilities at ASPIRE from my coaching staff and with the weather being so good at this time of the year in Qatar, it was the perfect opportunity to test them out. The welcome we have received has been superb and we have already done an excellent training session that just would not have been possible in the worst conditions in the UK."
