8 January 2019 – Doha, Qatar:
Aspire Zone Foundation (AZF) welcomed a senior delegation from the German Football Association (DFB) on Tuesday to discuss areas of cooperation between the two giant sporting organisations.
The visiting delegation comprised various senior members of the DFB including: Oliver Bierhof, General Manager of Germany’s national team and member of the Presidential Board of DFB; Nicklas Dietrich, Fitness Coach of Germany’s national team; Thomas Beheshti, Head of Team Management DIE MANNSCHAFT; and Carl Monteiro, Head of Sales and Digital Marketing.
Ahead of the DFB establishing a new sports academy in Frankfurt, they visited Qatar to explore cooperation opportunities with AZF, which has established itself in the past decade as one of the reference organisations in sports worldwide.
Introductory meetings
The senior sports delegation commenced their visit with an introductory meeting with senior AZF officials Abdulla Nasser Al Naemi Director General, Aspire Logistics – Member AZF Organisation; Mohammed Mubarak Al Kuwari, Chief Marketing Officer at AZF; and representatives of AZF’s Business Development Department.
The German and Qatari parties also discussed steps to further develop their cooperation and will hold another round of meetings on Wednesday.
Comprehensive tour at Aspetar
The distinguished guests also received a detailed briefing at Aspetar, the orthopaedic and sports medicine hospital. They were then given a guided tour by Dr. Abdulaziz Al Kuwari, Acting Chief Executive Officer of Aspetar; and Dr. Hakim Chalabi, Assistant Director General for International Medical Affairs.
The delegation also had the opportunity to visit the various departments of Aspetar, the accredited FIFA Medical Centre of Excellence, including: Sports Medicine, Sports Science, Orthopaedic Surgery, Medical Imaging, Rehabilitation and Dentistry departments.
Overview of Aspire Academy’s Football Performance Centre
Their third stop was a visit to Aspire Academy and Professor Valter Di Salvo, Director of Football Performance and Science, who gave the delegation a sneak peek at the Academy’s new Football Performance Centre that centralises football performance, science and training methodology to support the development of elite football in Qatar. The beneficiaries of the centre include athletes at Aspire Academy, as well as those playing in the Qatar Stars League and the Qatar National Team.
Visit to the first stadium ready to host the 2022 FIFA World Cup Qatar™
The delegation ended the tour by visiting Khalifa International Stadium, the first 2022 FIFA World Cup Qatar™ ready venue. Mr. Abdullah Aman Al-Khater, Director of Events and Venues at AZF gave the visitors an overview of the innovative and advanced systems and technologies being implemented there to ensure an amazing tournament in 2022.