24 Apr 2017
Doha, 24 April 2017. Aspire School Festival 2017 featuring twenty-four (24) government preparatory school teams made up of players from 2002 to 2004 ( grade 7 to 9 ) concluded on Monday midday in Aspire Dome with Hamza Ben Abdul Mutaleb winning the trophy.
The highly successful event held over two days attracted the cream of football coaches in the country with both Qatar National team coach, National Team coach Jorge Fossati and Qatar U-23 Olympic team coach, Felix Sanchez Bas among those who attended.
Day 2 pitted the six (6) winners of each group and after series of matches Ibn Khaldoon and Hamza Ben Abdul Mutaleb emerged to play the final. After the full match formalities that included the playing of Qatar National Anthem the match go underway before an appreciative crowd. A solitary strike for Hamza Ben Abdul Mutaleb in the opening minutes of the game proved the difference and Ibn Khaldoon had to settle for silver. The other four teams that made it into Day 2 along with finalist (Ibn Khaldoon and Hamza Ben Abdul Mutaleb) were Al Emam Al Shafeii, Abu Obaida, Al Yarmook and Al Maahad Al Dini.
Ivan Bravo, the Director General of Aspire Academy, presented the winning team with gold medals and handed the trophy of the Festival’s first edition. A number of Aspire Academy’s senior officials were also present including Badr Al-Hay, Director of Education and Student Care; Ali Sultan Fakhroo, Director of Corporate Services; Jassem Al-Jaber, Aspire Academy’s School Principal; and Saeed Ali Al-Marri, Manager of Football Administration.
Commenting on the event, Saeed Ali Al-Marri, Manager of Football Administration at Aspire Academy, said: “with this Football Festival, the Aspire Academy achieved an important objective which was to engage schools in order to uncover national sporting talent that exists in Qatar’s young athletes, specifically football. We see schools remaining as the main source of promising players in Qatar, especially at this young age where physical capabilities start to shape up. We were greatly satisfied to see the excitement of students who participated in this tournament and excited by the high standard on the pitch. This tournament summed up our homegrown footballing aspiration and reflects Qatar’s passion for football.”
Badr Al-Hay, Director of Education and Student Care, also said: “We’d like to see the students who participated at this Festival standing shoulder to shoulder with our Aspire Academy graduates as part of Qatar’s national team during the 2022 FIFA World Cup™ Qatar in a little over five years’ time. The students participating during the festival definitely showed promise and it’s out hope they will be part of this historic event, and that the Aspire Football Festival was a major step that helped them achieve their dreams.”