18 Jan 2018
Doha, 18 January 2018. Al Kass International Cup 2018 sees the return of the winners of the 2016 edition in the form of Aspire Football Dreams (AFD) team. Who could forget the impressive display of Aspire Football Dreams at the 2016 Al Kass International Cup when they defeated Real Madrid in one of the most exciting finals of this prestigious tournament? One of the outstanding players from that team Mohammed Rama Katana dabbed, the “Kenyan Messi” went on to sign a professional contract with the Portuguese top club Sporting Lisbon. There is always a buzz and air of expectation for some entertaining football when AFD team is around and the next generation is here in Qatar ready and keen to light up the tournament and thrill the crowds with their brand of spectacular football.
AFD has brought to Doha a team composed of a mix of players born in 2001, 2002 and 2003 including two players Isaac Nuhu and Moussa Ndiaye who were part of the winning side from 2016. “The players are very excited and grateful to be here playing in this world class tournament boasting of high quality teams. It is definitely the highlight of our season in terms of the competition we face this year. It’s a great opportunity to measure ourselves against some of the world’s top teams and the boys know that the world is watching them here,” says head coach Serigne Saliou Dia, who was part of the coaching staff in 2016 and who is also in charge of Senegal’s U23 National Team.
Coach Dia was speaking at Aspire Academy ahead of the start of the 7th edition of Al Kass International Cup. He went on to say, “A successful tournament for us means reaching the final at the very least. Each side in this tournament has qualities and strengthens that make them difficult to beat and for us we will bank on our own which include, strong team spirit, pace and technical abilities and add onto the coaching staff’s acquired knowledge of the environment and nature of tournament we are hopeful for another good outing at Al Kass Cup this year.”
Thanks to the outstanding performance in their last participation, hopes and expectations from many in the stands including international scouts will again be high this year for AFD players to perform and excel and that can come with its own kind of pressure on the players. Coach Dia commented on this by saying, “We prepare the players to become professionals and this includes how to cope with different challenges like dealing with media, large crowds and other demands of playing at such big tournaments. That’s part of being a football player. If they feel some kind of pressure, it is a positive pressure to give their best and from such experience they are able to draw motivation to propel them all the way.”
The group stage is already going to show if Aspire Football Dreams might be one of the teams to beat for the title. With Real Madrid and Fenerbahce they facing two top teams of the competition in the first round. “The Spaniards are a great team when it comes to strategy and ball possession. The Turkish team is well known for their physical play. It’s going to be close games, but it is our goal to show the people that we are doing a good job in Africa. One of our biggest strengths is that we are a family on and off the pitch. We work and fight for each other and we will do our best to represent the Aspire brand well.”
Aspire Football Dreams was drawn in Group B and is going to face Fenerbahce on Monday, January 22, at 3:30pm (Pitch 4) and Real Madrid on Tuesday, January 23 at 5:35pm (Pitch 5).