12 Jan 2017
Doha, 12 January 2017. Aspire Academy U-16 football side emerged winners of the latest edition of Tri-Series that featured Sporting club of Portugal and Buriram United from Thailand. In one of the tightest contested age group series the hosts rounded of proceedings with a 2-0 win over Buriram United to finish off with five (5) points one ahead of highly rated Sporting club Portugal side. This latest edition of Tri-Series wound up on Wednesday 11th January at Aspire Academy.
Aspire Academy U-16 victory prevented the Portuguese teams from making it a clean sweep after they convincingly won the U-17 and U-18 categories, with Aspire teams finishing second in both age groups. Aspire Academy U-17 warmed up for this year’s Al- Kass International Cup which starts on 21st January at Aspire Academy with a 7-1 mauling of Buriram Utd. Yusuf Yusuf grabbed a hat-trick with the other goals coming from Mohammed Al-Naimi, Andri Syahputra, Ahmed Alganehi and Ahmed Suhail as the hosts set about a demolition job.
Speaking after the match, Aspire Academy U-17 coach, Bruno Pinheiro welcomed the challenge his side has got from both Sporting and Buriram, “We faced two different opponents but each one was good preparation for us ahead of Al-Kass tournament. It doesn’t get any tougher than playing Sporting club of Portugal and we learnt a lot about where we are with our preparations from that match and as for the contest against Buriram, l am pleased with the targets we set out to achieve from this match. Now we fine tune and consolidate our work in readiness for Al- Kass Cup”
The Tri-Series football tournament, a vital part of the Academy’s commitment to enabling the sporting success of its student-athletes while providing a chance for students to compete head-to-head with world leading football clubs. The opportunity to play against opposition from some of the world’s most established footballing countries provides exposure to different playing styles, management philosophies and tactics from around the globe.