07 Jan 2014
Doha, Qatar (December XX, 2013) –Aspire Academy, in collaboration with the Iker Casillas Foundation, is set to host an intensive training camp for some of the world’s most promising young goalkeepers. The three-day summit is taking place between December 27 and 29.
Talented shot-stoppers from ten countries have been selected to attend the course along with student-athletes from Aspire Academy and Aspire’s Football Dreams project. Nations represented include Germany, Argentina, Brazil, Italy, Japan, US and UK. Each player has been identified as a potential candidate to represent their home country at the FIFA 2022 World Cup finals in Qatar.
If they succeed, they will have gone some way to emulating the achievements of Iker Casillas, founder of the Iker Casillas Foundation. The goalkeeping legend is captain of Spain and Real Madrid, and is his country’s most capped player of all time. As the Spanish media eagerly awaits the birth of Casillas and Sara Carbonero’s first child this week, the Spanish captain is expected in Doha.
“We are delighted towelcome some the world’s most talented young goalkeepers tothis training program, which is designed to nurtureelite sporting talent,” said Ivan Bravo, Director General of Aspire Academy. “As one of the world’s most comprehensive campuses for athletes in training, participants will be encouraged to take full advantage of the state-of-the-art facilities on offer at Aspire Zone. It is our hope that this gathering will help ensure that the players reach their full potential, and that they return to Qatar in 2022 to compete on the highest stage in the World Cup finals.”
The summit will include a variety of sessions designed to enhance specific skill sets, ranging from intercepting to shot stopping. The training camp will culminate in a ‘Battle of the Goalkeepers’ competition, allowing the players to demonstrate the different techniques learned during the summit in a head-to-head contest. The participants will be given the chance to win a range of exciting prizes, including a trip to the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil and tickets to the ChampionsLeague match later this season.