14 Feb 2018
Doha, 14 February 2018. A delegation from The English Football Association is in Qatar and on Wednesday morning they visited Aspire Academy. The English FA high-profile delegation was led by FA Chairman, Mr Greg Clarke and included Jane Bateman, FA head of International Relations and Tom Gracey, FA Senior Broadcast Manager as well as officials from the British Embassy in Qatar. The delegation was welcomed by Aspire Director General Mr Ivan Bravo who went on to lead them on a comprehensive tour of Aspire Academy premises after first holding a meeting with the visitors. The delegation learnt about the educational and sports training programs the Academy provides for its students in support of Qatar’s future athletes.
Speaking at the end of the visit, FA Chairman Mr Greg Clarke praised the “great commitment to sporting and academic development” that Qatar has laid out and is best embodied by Aspire Academy. “ Beyond the first class facilities and infrastructure you have here is the collection of top professionals and leadership that has futuristic planning and programs to nurture and harness the youthful talent of Qatar. The philosophy and work taking place here at Aspire is evolutionally and we at FA maybe the old football association in the world but we came here to Qatar ready to learn and share with counterparts who have made tremendous strides in youth football development and look at building strategic relationships with fellow national associations, whilst also looking at how we help our youth make successful transition into senior teams something Qatar is also dealing with”, said Mr Greg Clarke.