Alkass Digital
A delegation from the Confederation of African Football (CAF), which is in Qatar at the invitation of Qatar Football Association President Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa bin Ahmed Al Thani, spent part of Thursday afternoon touring Aspire Academy. CAF and QFA enjoy a strong and friendly relationship which has given rise to many programmes and projects of mutual benefit. At Aspire, the visiting CAF team was met and welcomed by Aspire Academy Director of Football Performance and Science, Professor Valter Di Salvo who went on to lead the tour. The CAF delegation had the opportunity to see the new Aspire Academy Football Performance Centre, which boasts state-of-the art equipment and latest cutting- edge sporting technology.
CAF Executive Committee member and President of Djibouti Football Association, Suleiman Hassan Waberi was full of praise for the relationship between QFA and CAF and expressed his awe at the sport development work carried out by Aspire Academy. “We at CAF have a good friend in QFA and this opportunity today enables us to see how Qatar has made great strides in football development and we can look forward to working with QFA at country association level and at Confederation level to develop our football structures, which includes areas like Refereeing and Coaching amongst others.”
The President of the Liberia Football Association, Mr Raji Mustapha went on to say, “What I saw today here at Aspire is encouraging to countries like mine, because in Qatar we find an example of sport development, structures and programmes that enhance what we are trying to achieve with our football. We will explore areas where we best can learn and tap into the fabulous work that is done in Qatar by institutions like Aspire Academy, which is really a world class institution.”
Federacion Ecuatoguineana de Futbol’s, (FEGUIFUT) Gustavo Ndong Edu Akumu added, “The visit serves to confirm the very cordial partnership between QFA and CAF. Aspire Academy sums up the amazing work Qatar is doing to create a world-class sports programs which benefit many in the world including countries under CAF such as my own, Equatorial Guinea. The facilities and work that we have seen here in Qatar point to a country preparing well for the World Cup in 2022, and from what l have seen l am confident Qatar will host a great World Cup.”