11 Jun 2025
Aspire Academy’s student-athletes marked the end of the sporting activities season and are switching their focus to their academic ones as they prepare for their final exams and graduation ceremony.
The evaluations are set for 16 to 24 June, following the upcoming Eid Al-Adha break, with the graduation ceremony for the class of 2025 scheduled for 25 June.
With their concentration shifting to their studies for the time being, the sporting demands on the student-athletes decrease.
Among the highlights for May for the student-athletes were several football friendlies, athletics development competitions, and an international table tennis training camp, while the padel players spent time in Spain.
Football visitors
In addition to several teams visiting Aspire Academy in May, the 2010 generation also travelled to Alicante, Spain, for a 10-day training camp.
There was a final set of friendlies for the 2007 generation, many of whom will graduate on June 25, as they took on a team from the Turkish club Başakşehir.
The 2009 players faced the PVF Academy from Vietnam, but unfortunately, a proposed visit by the 2010, 2011 and 2012 generations of Ukrainian club FC Kryvbas Kryvyi RIH was cancelled due to unforeseen circumstances.
Hoang Viet Nguyen, the Head of Delegation for PVF Academy, said the visit had been illuminating and he would be taking lessons back to Vietnam.
“As a strength and conditioning coach, I see a lot of positive practices at Aspire that I would love to apply to my players in the future,” he explained.
“The intensity of the game is much higher than what we are used to facing at home.”
“The Aspire Academy players impressed me a lot. Good techniques, good game understanding, and good physical performance as well. I think they have a lot of potential.”
There were also games for the younger players with the feeder teams (generations 2013, 2014 and 2015) playing their final games of the season against FC Kairat Almaty from Kazakhstan.
The visitor’s Technical Director, Yevgeniy Krassikov, was impressed by his experiences at Aspire Academy.
“The conditions here are the best we’ve experienced compared to other places we've visited,” he said.
“There are many aspects that help players develop, including natural grass fields, multiple coaches per team, education, game analysis, accommodation and meals, recovery processes, a large team of specialists, and excellent overall service.”
For his part, Edorta Murua, Aspire Academy’s Technical Director, was keen to point out that he and his team are always learning and adapting their methods in order to improve the way they develop young footballing talent.
"The key message for the new players is that patience is essential,” he pointed out at an end-of-season get-together for the football players.
“We must continue investing heavily in individual goals that can make our teams stronger. It's essential for everyone—coaches, the organisation, and the players—to better understand their roles, the responsibilities they take on, and the consequences of their decisions.”
A number of Aspire Academy footballers have been with the Qatar Under-17 National Team as they continued their preparations for November’s Under-17 World Cup on home soil.
Athletics development events
For their part, the athletics coaching team put on the final development competitions before the exams.
The events are held regularly throughout the year for under-14 and under-16 student-athletes, as well as girls who train at Aspire Academy, to offer them the opportunity to compete in a competitive environment.
Peter Skoumal, Lead Athletics Coach at Aspire Academy, detailed why these carefully planned events are so important for young athletes.
“Our main idea is to engage our developing young athletes and teach them how to compete and how to behave in a competitive environment,” he said.
“It is really important for them to understand what we are training for; we are training to compete at a high level.”
“The big difference between this and training is that we really try to create a competition environment here, with the officials, with the timekeeping, and we are really looking to adhere to the official rules.”
Once the exams are over, the majority of the track and field student-athletes will be travelling overseas for training camps and competitions to further their development.
Table tennis training camp
The final major event of the year for the table tennis players was taking part in an international training camp. The event welcomed 48 players from 14 Asian countries as part of the Asian Table Tennis Union’s (ATTU) “Shaping Future Stars” programme. The event, held in collaboration with the Qatar Table Tennis Federation, featured Aspire student-athletes and focused on developing technical skills, improving movement, and enhancing conditioning. It also served as preparation for the World Table Tennis Championships in Doha, reinforcing the ongoing partnership between Aspire Academy and the ATTU.
Padel players in Spain
Several padel players from Aspire Academy travelled to the Sipadel Academy in Sevilla, Spain, to hone their skills and continue their development. The final major event before the exams for the fencers was an under-14 foil tournament in Bulgaria, while for squash it was an event in Singapore.
The activities for the student-athletes will continue over the summer holidays with overseas training camps and competitions.