MEDIA RELEASE PR35625
ASPIRE Football Dreams Success in Vietnam
HO CHI MINH CITY, Aug. 6 /PRNewswire-AsiaNet/ --
- More Than 20,000 Young Hopefuls Narrowed to Three Lucky Boys
Over the past three weeks, Vietnam has played host to ASPIRE's
Football Dreams program - the largest football talent search of its kind in
the world. Experts from ASPIRE Academy for Sports Excellence teamed with some
of the sports' top coaches as they assessed over 20,000 would-be footballers.
ASPIRE Football Dreams is a unique scouting project aimed at
identifying the future talent of world football. Launched in 2007, the ASPIRE
Football Dreams project has tested over 715,000 young footballers from Asia,
South America and Africa.
The trial in Vietnam was open to all boys born between 1994
and 1996 and took place over 50 football pitches throughout the region with
the help of 240 volunteers. The top 50 players then took part in the final
selection phase; an intensive three day assessment period at Thanh Long
Sports Complex. Over the course of the three days, the 50 hopefuls were
narrowed down to three talented individuals - two midfielders and a striker.
Ma Van Tuan (January 15, 1994), Dang Anh Tuan (August 1, 1994) and Nguyen
Thai Sung (September 22, 1994), all midfield players will head to the ASPIRE
Academy for Sports Excellence where they will stay for a critical final month
of careful evaluation, training and development from ASPIRE's dedicated team
of experts before their futures are decided.
Josep Colomer, ASPIRE Football Dreams Program Director said:
"The three selected players will spend January 2010 at ASPIRE Academy for
Sports Excellence where they will be joined by an additional 48 contenders
selected throughout this year's ASPIRE Football Dreams program. We are very
grateful to have benefitted from the complete support of the Vietnam Football
Federation and we feel that we've evaluated the best young players throughout
the country. Our selection is based on the physical, tactical and team
integration abilities of the players."
ASPIRE Football Dreams Background Information:
The project relies on a team of dedicated coaches and
experienced talent scouts. Football Dreams provides hundreds of thousands of
13-year-old children with the opportunity to demonstrate their skills with
the hope of one day becoming professional football players with brilliant
futures.
Commenting on Football Dreams, Laurent Joliat, ASPIRE Head of
Marketing and Communications, said: "This exceptional talent search offers
participating countries the opportunity to be exposed to the very latest
training and evaluation methods in football talent detection and assessment.
We praise the national football federation's cooperation and we're dedicated
to leaving behind a legacy as a caring partner for youth sports development."
Q: How does it work throughout the World?
A: The 2009 ASPIRE Football Dreams schedule includes 15
countries across Asia, South America and Africa.
Country Date
Rwanda 01.08-20.08
Ghana 29.08-19.09
Nigeria 26.09-15.10
Mali 17.10-05.11
Guatemala 07.11-26.11
Costa Rica 07.11-26.11
Paraguay 28.11-17.12
Senegal 02.05-21.05
Cameroun 23.05.-11.06
Ivory Coast 13.06.-02.07
Vietnam 04.07.-23.07
Thailand 04.07.-23.07
Kenya 01.08-20.08
Tanzania 01.08-20.08
Uganda 01.08-20.08
Q: What is the overall objective of the programme?
A: In short, the objectives are talent identification and
development. ASPIRE Academy for Sports Excellence is built on the principle
of recognising and developing potential sports talent through a programme
which provides the best coaches and facilities to enable sporting, social and
educational progression.
Q: How does the Football Dreams initiative fit into the bigger ASPIRE
picture?
A: ASPIRE is a unique institution which provides the best
sporting environment for the development of young talent while also promoting
the benefits of a sports culture for the health of the country. ASPIRE is one
of the best, if not the best, sports academy in the world, attracting the
highest qualified coaches, teachers and medical staff to work in outstanding
facilities for the benefit of helping develop a new generation of healthy,
talented people.
As well as working with the best student athletes, ASPIRE also
aims to improve the general health of the people of Qatar through its ASPIRE
ACTIVE programme. As part of our goal of encouraging sporting activity, we
are always receptive to working with the right organisations and companies to
ensure that our message is strong and that we are able to access as many
people as possible.
General Notes to Editors:
Created in 2004, the ASPIRE Academy for Sports Excellence in
Doha has the dual aims of identifying and transforming promising student
athletes into world-renowned champions across a wide range of sports and to
act as a beacon to draw sporting culture into the centre of life in Qatar and
the surrounding region.
The Academy is distinguished by a philosophy which aims to
develop the student as a whole, providing them with full academic, social and
sporting development.
Unrivalled facilities, housed in and around the world's
largest purpose built indoor sports dome, ensure the Academy's reputation as
one of the foremost sporting and educational institutions in the entire
international community, enticing an ever-increasing number of visitors and
users, from sporting legends to global political leaders.
Every aspect of the development of elite athletes is catered
for by one indoor and seven outdoor football pitches, athletics tracks, an
Olympic-sized swimming pool, diving pool, combat arenas, gymnastics arena,
specially designed fitness weight rooms, lecture halls, dormitories to
accommodate what will eventually become 1,000 students, a medical centre and
many more facilities.
The ASPIRE ACTIVE initiative is a community engagement program
spread across the country ensuring that thousands of the nation's residents
have accessible and advanced health and fitness activities as routine aspects
of their lives. Each social group is catered for by tailor-made classes and
programs.
ASPIRE TODAY, INSPIRE TOMORROW
For media enquiries please contact Laurent Joliat, ASPIRE Head of
Marketing & Communications:
E: laurent.joliat@aspire.qa M: +974-413-6444
SOURCE: Aspire Academy for Sports Excellence
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