Aspire Academy hosts latest stage of UEFA Assist Programme between QFA and FIGC
AS part of the ongoing UEFA Assist programme, Aspire Academy hosted two guests from the Italian football federation’s (FIGC) coaching staff last Sunday and Monday (May 28 & 29).
The Academy welcomed Marco Montini the Fitness Coach for Italy’s under-19 national team and Maria Luisa Cravana, Performance Nutritionist for Italy’s under-21 side.
The UEFA Assist project matches European football federations with ones from the rest of the world to help develop the sport through the exchange of knowledge and ideas.
The programme has seen the Qatar Football Association (QFA) working with the FIGC since 2019.
Thanks to the QFA and Aspire Academy’s working relationship, Montini and Cravana spent time at the academy exchanging ideas and giving talks to coaches and staff.
Montini spent time with Academy’s under-15 squad as they undertook a strength and conditioning workout and presented to the QFA/Aspire Academy staff the activities
planned by Italian under-19 squad towards the preparation of the next European Championship for this category.
He was full of praise for the cooperation between the two football associations as well as Aspire Academy as hosts.
“It has been a great exchange of knowledge and I have had the opportunity to see the incredible facilities,” Montini said.
“But the facilities alone are not enough, and you also have
very great professionals like the conditioning coaches, physiologists, psychologists, nutritionists.
“It was a fantastic experience; I invite other people to come here to see all the things that you do here because it is impossible to pick out one thing.”
As part of her visit, Cravana gave a talk on nutrition to coaches who are at Aspire Academy undertaking the
performance module of their Asian Football Confederation Coaches’ Pro-Licence course.
She also said she would be returning to Italy with new ideas to share with her colleagues.
“It was also for me, a great experience and I enriched my knowledge in general, in performance, in nutrition and strategically,” she explained.
“It is a wonderful facility that does important work to guarantee very high quality and
high calibre football.”
Aspire Academy’s Director of Football Performance & Science, Valter Di Salvo was proud of the Academy’s role in the UEFA Assist project. “It is a great honour for Aspire Academy to host a technical delegation from the Italian Football Federation (FIGC) as part of the UEFA Assist programme,” he said.
“We are delighted to be able to bring together the QFA and FIGC for this two- day exchange of knowledge.” The visit is one of several exchanges that have been planned for 2023 and follows a visit from the Italian National football team’s fitness coach, Claudio Donatelli in January.
While last September Umm Salal SC’s head coach, Wissam Rizik, spent time at a training camp for Italy’s under-21 squad. An experience that the former Qatar captain described as “very informative and valuable.”