22 Apr 2018
Delhi, 22 April 2018. In June 2017 Aspire Academy and Delhi Dynamos FC signed a ground-breaking technical partnership that made the world-renowned Doha-based academy share its football know-how and management expertise with the Indian Super League (ISL) club. As a result of having established a youth football system that is praised to be the best in India, 1.200 children from Delhi and the rest of India attended the try-outs on April 20 and 21 in Delhi.
Since the start of the collaboration, Aspire Academy has been supporting Delhi Dynamos FC in various areas including coaching, training, scouting and sports science. In terms of youth development, a philosophy was implemented in the program that gives young players the best chances to make it to the club’s senior team. As part of the process, Aspire Academy sent Fran Perez as Youth Manager to Delhi, who is making sure that the content-related methodological and structural inputs are put into practice.
“When it comes to football, India is a developing country. Through the cooperation with Delhi Dynamos FC, Aspire Academy intervenes in this development process practically and supportively. Since last September, Aspire has been on site with various employees and, together with the club, we are creating the structural, personnel and content-methodological foundations for a sustainable football talent center. Scouting is also part of this process,” said Stephan Hildebrandt, Manager of Football Operations at Aspire Academy.
Together with Aspire Academy’s Specific Football Projects Coordinator Oscar Garro, Hildebrandt travelled to Delhi to witness the two-day try-outs for the age-groups from U12 to U18. “The quantitative response in the past two days has been impressive. Personally, I have not experienced anything like that. The enthusiasm among the kids for football is gigantic. However, the enormous run on the talent screening events is also a direct consequence of the joint work in recent months. The commitment of Aspire is well recognised in Delhi and gives especially the young football generation hope for a professionalization of the sportive training structures in the country,” added Hildebrandt.