18 Jun 2025
Aspire Academy’s innovative initiative, “The Workshop Tour,” travelled to Asia for its second edition, with an event in Singapore organised in collaboration with the Football Association of Singapore (FAS). The tour is part of an ongoing commitment by the prestigious Qatar-based Aspire Academy to support the development of global youth football through its worldwide programme, Aspire in the World Fellows.
The Workshop was hosted at the headquarters of the newest Aspire Fellows, the FAS, the Jalan Besar Stadium, with more than 200 guests in attendance.
This latest event was the second of the Workshop Tour initiative launched last year by Aspire in the World Fellows, following a highly successful visit to Argentina.
Thanks to expert input from many of the Aspire Fellows, the Workshops aim to share knowledge with a larger global audience of coaches and technical staff.
With His Excellency Mr. Saoud bin Jassim Al-Jufairi, Ambassador of the State of Qatar to the Republic of Singapore, in attendance, the Workshop was officially opened by Ali Sultan Fakhroo, Chief Corporate Services Officer at Aspire Academy.
His comments were followed by a welcome from the Executive Director of Aspire in the World Fellows, and Chew Chun-Liang, the General Secretary of FAS.
In addition to theoretical and practical sessions, the delegates also enjoyed two Star Chats with former professional footballers.
On day one, it was former Japan international and Asian Cup winner Tadanari Lee, who played for several Japanese clubs as well as English side Southampton,
He shared his experiences of being a professional player, emphasising the importance of mental preparation for players aiming to reach the next level.
“In football, one of the most important things is information sharing, and European football has a long history, with the best technology and best methods in football,” he explained.
“So it's good for ideas from European football to be shared through this type of opportunity.”
The first day’s theoretical presentations included Professor Valter di Salvo, Aspire Academy’s Director of Football Performance and Science, who offered his insights into using a holistic approach to dealing with injuries, highlighting the importance of integrated performance and recovery strategies.
Manuel Toscano from Italian giants Juventus presented a practical model to illustrate effective communication with both players and coaches.
On behalf of the FAS, Firdaus Maasar used examples of real data from the Singapore League to underline the importance of contextualising to give proper meaning to analysis.
The evening sessions were devoted to more practical sessions, with local players used to demonstrate the ideas.
Corné Groenendijk from the Dutch club Ajax and Lewis Nightingale from English Premier League Champions Liverpool offered two distinct coaching approaches, each with its own identity and methodology.
On the second day, the Star Chat was with Mike Phelan, a former Manchester United midfielder and long-serving assistant coach at the club, best known for his role alongside Sir Alex Ferguson during one of United’s most successful eras.
He underscored the value of the teams that work behind the team in achieving success, as well as pointing out the changing nature of global football, where modern players are now as much brands as they are footballers.
The day’s theoretical sessions included Daniele Bonnano, Aspire Academy’s Football Performance Coordinator, who considered how to define success in youth development, using Aspire Academy as a study and approach.
While Matt Portas from the English Football Association argued that we cannot identify tomorrow's talent with yesterday's mindset.
The final theoretical session was presented by Priscilla Castellani Tarabini of the Italian football association (FIGC) on the role of performance nutrition in contrast to medical nutrition in football.
The practical sessions on the second day were led by Karim Bencherifa, the Football Association of Singapore, and Hugo Machado, who works at the Portuguese club FC Porto.
The Singapore representative conducted several drills to focus on improving finishing in the final third, to refine timing, decision-making, and execution.
Hugo Machado demonstrated FC Porto’s playing principles, particularly how players react to their team losing possession, with an emphasis on intensity and collective response.
There were also technological presentations from Fitogether, who were partners for the Singapore Workshop and have a continuing working relationship with Aspire Academy, developing GPS tracking units to provide a variety of crucial and useful data on players.
Following the two days of main Workshop events, there were activities for youngsters from the local communities, providing them with a unique opportunity to participate in practical sessions led by top coaches from the Aspire Fellows.