22 Apr 2013
?The second edition of the Aspire Academy International U-18 Tournament came to a thrilling conclusion on Friday as six teams battled it out on the pitch to claim the highly coveted first place position.
Portuguese club Benfica FC won the tournament, while West Bromwich Albion FC and Seville FC claimed second and third place respectively.
The award ceremony, which followed the final set of matches, was attended by the Ambassador of Portugal in Qatar, Mr. Fernando Araujo; Al Sadd player, Raúl González; world-renowned coach, Bora Milutinovic; and the Secretary General of the Technical Committee of Qatar Football Association, Ali Jassim Al Muftah.
Raúl presented the tournament trophy to the captain of Benfica FC, while Mr. Araujo handed out the gold medals. Bora awarded the silver medals to West Bromwich Albion FC, while the bronze medals were distributed to Seville FC by Mr. Ali Jassim Al Muftah. In addition, Mr. Adel Saleh the head of the referee committee gave out awards to the referees who participated in the tournament.
Mr. Fernando Araujo, Ambassador of Portugal in Qatar, handed out the medals to the winning team and said, “I am very impressed by how well this tournament was organized. It is a wonderful opportunity for aspiring footballers to develop as athletes. All the players performed well, and I’m sure they’ll be pleased with the results of the competition.”
Mr. Ivan Bravo, Director General of Aspire Academy, praised the Aspire teams for competing at such a high level. “The Aspire Academy teams, A and B, performed extremely well against the visiting clubs,” he said. “In a spectacular display of skill, the players fought hard to prove themselves.”
He continued, “Aspire Academy regularly organizes tournaments for its student-athletes as they are a great opportunity for young footballers to not only challenge themselves, but also learn from one another. There is a great sense of camaraderie amongst the athletes.”
The Aspire Academy International U-18 Tournament 2013, which spanned five days, welcomed four teams from Europe and Bahrain and took place on the outdoor pitches at Aspire Zone.