01 Oct 2015
Berlin, 1 October 2015. For the second year in a row, Aspire Academy brings together football experts from all over the world for the ‘Aspire Academy Global Summit’ on October 5 and 6 to address the issue of ‘Football Performance and Science.’ Over two days in Berlin, many of the most influential figures in international football and eminent members of the scientific community will meet to discuss the issues and developments that are shaping sports training methodology around the world. During this two-day long event, more than 150 participants from football federations and clubs will present details of the training methods and approaches they adopt to nurture footballing talent, realise championship potential and support their players in achieving sporting success. The Aspire Academy Global Summit is an integral part of the ‘Aspire in the World Fellows’ programme which brings together knowledge and expertise from 50 of the world’s leading clubs, federations and leagues concerning the development of elite youth football players.
WORKING TOGETHER TO IMPROVE FOOTBALL
“This initiative from Aspire Academy is based on a modern concept. We have created a community whose common purpose is to make football better,” explains Prof. Valter Di Salvo, Director of Football Performance & Science at Aspire Academy. “Building a network in this way allows smaller clubs to benefit from the expertise of bigger clubs, helping to open doors along the way.” In his capacity as Executive Director of ‘Aspire in the World Fellows’, Di Salvo has overall responsibility for the programme which launched in October 2014 with participants from 28 countries. Since launching, it has developed at a rapid pace. The programme is built around an online platform through which participants can regularly communicate with one another, irrespective of their geographic location. This structured environment helps foster ongoing debate and discussion on a variety of topics and facilitates sharing of training methodologies as well as the application of technology, research and other tools.
During the 2014 Global Summit which was hosted in Paris, topics discussed included training load, player position, developing mental strength, injury prevention and technology and research. In the 12 months since the event, Fellows and members of the community have explored each topic in detail with each given a dedicated focus over a two-month period. This has involved input from world-class experts, access to shared resources including scientific articles, interviews and web links. At the conclusion of this period, an expert presentation was delivered and the clubs involved were able to actively participate in the ensuing discussion via video conference. “This kind of direct exchange is ideal and it’s fantastic to see how this community cooperates and shares methodologies,” says Di Salvo. “Another great benefit is that participants have an opportunity to tap into the expertise of star coaches such as Pep Guardiola, Roberto Di Matteo and Roberto Martínez, who gave us exclusive interviews when they visited the Academy.”
A group of ten clubs was invited to prepare PowerPoint presentations on each of the five special topics. These were then uploaded to the platform, and the participants subsequently discussed them in a video conference. At the close of each topic, conclusions were drawn and presented to the other Fellows. “The results so far have been very strong, benefiting the clubs themselves and the Academy, as well as the QFA (Qatar Football Association) and the clubs of the QSL (Qatar Stars League) who also have access to the material,” says Di Salvo, explaining the additional benefits of the programme for the development of football in Qatar.
Since last year’s summit, members of the community have also been engaging with one another more informally as well as through the online platform. Provision has also been made by the Aspire Academy for smaller groups to explore specialist topics in more depth. For example in mid-April, a group of sixteen Fellows – including representatives from football nations such as England, Italy, Spain, Germany, Ukraine, the Netherlands and the US – gathered together at the Academy for a series of workshops. Clubs that were unable to attend in person were invited to participate through a video conference. As well as providing great learning and development opportunities for participants, this also enabled those involved to learn more about Aspire Academy.
BERLIN RE-UNITES ‘FELLOWS’ UNDER ONE ROOF
This year’s ‘Aspire Academy Global Summit’ in Berlin will bring together 150 of most influential figures in football to address recent developments in the sport. This two-day summit will again explore the importance of continual improvements and optimization of performance in attaining sporting excellence.
As well as enabling clubs to explore these issues in-depth, the global summit in Berlin will also lead to the launch of a new concept – the ‘Fellows Training’ – a programme that Aspire Academy will make available to the community. This will be delivered with input from leading experts in their field from around the world, who will focus in-depth on a key topic. It will also provide an ongoing series of updates and training appointments through the online platform throughout the year.
In addition, “Star Chat” panels will provide a range of fascinating perspectives and contributions from world-famous football players and coaches including Johan Cruyff, Thomas Tuchel, Stefan Effenberg, Clarence Seedorf and Frank Rijkaard.