FC Barcelona stars with Aspire Academy officials.
FC Barcelona stars, Gerard Pique, Jordi Alba and Sergio Busquets, paid a visit to Aspire Academy for a panel discussion about future schedule at the Mall of Qatar. It was jointly organised by the Academy and Mall of Qatar.
As part of their visit, the players received a tour of Aspire Academy’s facilities and the latest technologies on offer, including a sneak peek of Aspire Academy’s new building, which is still under construction.
Spain’s star defender Gerard Pique praised Aspire Academy, saying it is equipped with great facilities. When asked about his retirement plans from the national team, Pique said: “I have thought a lot about this decision and am happy I have made the right one. I’ll be 31 next year and I want to have a long career with my club, FC Barcelona. To do that, sometimes you have to make sacrifices and leaving the national team will give me more time to rest.”
Speaking about Aspire-owned Culturally Deportiva Leonesa’s promotion to Spain’s Second Division, Pique added: “I think this will be a great experience for the team. It’s also good for Aspire Academy because they will be able to send their players to Spain to help them prepare for the Qatar World Cup 2022.” “Right now, I would like to finish my football career with Barcelona, but in football you never know. I cannot rule anything out completely.”
Meanwhile, Jordi Alba advised Aspire Academy’s student-athletes to soak up as much knowledge from their coaches as possible and to keep fighting to their level of football. Commenting on the development of sports in Qatar, Alba added: “The sports field in Qatar is growing steadily. Qatar has a lot of potential and people are expecting great things from it.”
Speaking about Aspire Academy, Spain’s midfielder Sergio Busquets praised the spacious facilities and high-level of coaching.
The players were welcomed to Aspire by senior officials from Aspire Academy, comprising Ali Salem Afifa, Deputy Director General of Aspire Academy, Professor Valter Di Salvo, Director of Football Performance & Science, Markus Egger, Director of Sport and Strategy, Ali Sultan Fakhroo, Director of Corporate Services and Jassim Al Jaber, Aspire Academy’s School Principal.
