17 Dec 2024
To highlight its ongoing 20th-anniversary celebrations, Aspire Academy hosted a media day for members of the local and international press.
The event gave the invitees the opportunity to hear from Director General Ivan Bravo, School Principal Jassem El Jaber, Director of Football Performance and Science Professor Valter Di Salvo, and the Football Department’s Technical Director Edorta Murua.
All four panellists discussed the successes they have seen over the last twenty years and gave insight into the Academy's future.
The invitees then had the opportunity to ask questions, conduct interviews, and tour the Academy’s facilities.
Ivan Bravo paid tribute to everyone working at the Academy and insisted that it is not resting on its laurels and is always learning and striving to improve.
"It is always great to see new faces. We love to have new friends coming to meet us, learn about us, and share their thoughts and ideas about what we are doing,” he said.
“Twenty years is an incredible milestone for us privileged ones who are here on a daily basis, who love this place, and who have been given the opportunity to contribute to the growth of this institution that we all hold dear.”
“Visitors are immediately struck by the facilities that we have here and how the place is, but we always stress one thing: yes, the facilities are incredible, and there is nothing quite like this anywhere else in the world, but the people here are the most important part of this project.”
“It centres on the student-athletes but includes all of those people around them who help them develop in all sorts of areas, not just physical but mental and mindset.”
“Excellence is not something you have; it is something you have to pursue. You must feel excellence is always ahead of you, and you may well never get to it.”
“Our founder, HH Sheikh Jassim Bin Hamad Al Thani, didn’t just want to produce top-class sportsmen but also prepare them for life in other areas, and so their education was another key part of his vision - champions in sport and in life.
“His Highness Sheikh Jassim Bin Hamad Al-Thani is still constantly following up about how we can take it (Aspire Academy) to the next level without being complacent. He also always asks how we are keeping aware of the latest developments.”
“We are still trying to stay ahead of the curve as we target the 2030 Asian Games and, of course, for the senior national football team to qualify for the World Cup, and we have an Asian Cup in 2027.”
“We continue to believe that if we continue to be humble and hungry collectively, this Academy will celebrate even more success when it reaches its 40th anniversary."