18 Oct 2018
Doha, 18 October 2018. On Thursday morning, a huge number of 6- and 7-year-old boys gathered at Aspire Dome for the kick-off of this season’s “School Festival Tournament”. This tournament – organized by Aspire Academy’s Football Skill Development Centre (FSDC) - was designed to provide a platform for talented youngsters to showcase their skills whilst supporting their athletic development and sporting potential.
In total, 150 Qatari schools – independent ones as well as private ones including schools associated to QPPSSA (Qatar Private Primary Schools Sports Association) and schools that are not – are going to compete for the titles in Grade 1 (born: 2012) and Grade 2 (born: 2011). From a number of competitions throughout the year, the best schools are going to qualify for the final tournament that is going to take place in 2019.
“It’s a great event that gives these young kids the opportunity to compete and for us it’s a chance to see them play. Of course, at this young age, it’s more difficult to spot talent. We focus on things like speed, physical and technical skills and it’s also interesting to see how fast a young player adapts to a new football match environment,” explains FSDC-Coach Nabil Mohammed Belkhodja. “What you can also see, is if they understand the game and what relationship they have with the ball,” adds FSDC-Coach Bruno Miguel Pereira.
On Thursday, 12 independent schools competed in Aspire Dome for two spots in the next round in each age group: In Grade 1 Abi Hanifa Model Independent School and Abdulla Bin Turky Model Independent Boysn School qualified for the next stage. In Grade 2 Abdulla Bin Turky also made it to the next round alongside Al Manar Model Boys School.