Aspire celebrates two decades of sporting excellence

Aspire Academy celebrated its 20-year anniversary yesterday, alongside hosting The Best FIFA Football Awards. Held under the patronage of HE Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa bin Ahmed al-Thani, the Minister of Sports and Youth, the event was attended by FIFA President Gianni Infantino and Real Madrid chief Florentino Perez.Since its inception in 2004, Aspire Academy has become one of the foremost national sports academies in the world. The Academy, currently home to 273 student-athletes across various sporting programmes, marked the occasion with a series of events designed to showcase Aspire Academy’s commitment to continuing its mission of developing Qatar’s next generation of sporting champions.At the same time, Aspire reflected on the Academy’s remarkable journey since its establishment and the role it has played in shaping Qatar’s current and future champions. Aspire Academy has achieved unprecedented success in developing world-class athletes and contributing to Qatar’s proud sporting legacy, with its graduates achieving remarkable feats across multiple disciplines. The impact of the Academy has been on full display for two decades, with graduates achieving many individual medals at several Olympic Games, World Championships, Asian Championships and three continental titles in football.These, and the many other proud achievements of Aspire’s 642 graduates, are a testament to Aspire Academy’s deep impact in fostering sporting talent over the past 20 years. Aspire Academy’s Director General, Ivan Bravo, reflected on the significance of the 20th anniversary as he paid tribute to everyone working at the Academy and insisted that it is not resting on its laurels and is always learning and striving to improve."Twenty years is an incredible milestone for us privileged ones who are here on a daily basis, who love this place, and who have been given the opportunity to contribute to the growth of this institution that we all hold dear,” he said."Visitors are immediately struck by the facilities that we have here and how the place is, but we always stress one thing: yes, the facilities are incredible, and there is nothing quite like this anywhere else in the world, but the people here are the most important part of this project. It centres on the student-athletes but includes all of those people around them who help them develop in all sorts of areas, not just physical but mental and mindset.”Bravo continued: "Excellence is not something you have; it is something you have to pursue. You must feel excellence is always ahead of you, and you may well never get to it. Our founder, His Highness Sheikh Jassim bin Hamad al-Thani, didn’t just want to produce top-class sportsmen but also prepare them for life in other areas, and so their education was another key part of his vision – champions in sport and in life. His Highness Sheikh Jassim bin Hamad al-Thani is still constantly following up about how we can take it (Aspire Academy) to the next level without being complacent. He also always asks how we are keeping aware of the latest developments.”"We are still trying to stay ahead of the curve as we target the 2030 Asian Games and, of course, for the senior national football team to qualify for the World Cup, and we have an Asian Cup in 2027. We continue to believe that if we continue to be humble and hungry collectively, this Academy will celebrate even more success when it reaches its 40th anniversary.”Currently nurturing 273 student-athletes across various sports programmes, the Academy continues to maintain its high standards of both athletic and academic excellence, as evidenced by its CIS (Council of International Schools) accreditation status, which has been in place since 2016. To date, the Academy has produced 642 graduates, many of whom have gone on to represent Qatar in international competitions.