Ivano Bravo, Director General of Aspire Academy
The model we have developed for Qatar and its athletes has been bench marked against 300 sports pathways from around the world, and then reviewed by 40 of the world’s leading sports experts.
Qatar now have the most comprehensive Olympic federation and general sports participation plan it has ever had for the general population and the elite athletes to engage throughout a lifetime with their favorite sport. Now it is up to us, as a country, to really put all this planning and detailed programs into real action.
All national federations have been active participants with Aspire to develop this program for the QOC, tailored made to each sport. We are now eager for the Olympic Committee to implement and execute these sports pathway models, with the help of all stakeholders involved including Aspire, the Federations and the Ministry of Education. These athlete development pathways cover all ages from childhood to senior citizens, male and female and people with disabilities.
In order for Qatar to be successful at events such as the Tokyo 2020 Olympics and the games in 2024, we need to be resolute about turning the program that has been prepared over the last 3 years into real action. It will require a serious revision to the importance of physical education in the schools curricula. It will need the discipline and professionalism of the federations and clubs to execute their day-to-day programs based on the best practice guidelines and athlete steps that we have prepared for the country.
