The two captains and referees pose for a photograph prior to the friendly game on Friday.
Aspire-owned Cultural y Deportiva Leonesa secured a hard-fought 4-1 win over Al Sailiyah SC in a friendly game played at Aspire Academy on Friday. This game was held on the sidelines of Cultural y Deportiva Leonesa’s winter training camp in the Academy, which ran from 27-31 December 2016.
Commenting on the result, Mowafaq Awad, one of Aspire Academy’s graduates who plays for Cultural y Deportiva Leonesa, said: “I’m very thrilled to be back in Doha to participate in the winter training camp at Aspire Academy, and very happy with tonight’s result. We played a great game against Al Sailiyah, who also performed exceptionally well.”
Playing in the Segunda División B in the Spanish league, Aspire-owned club, Cultural y Deportiva Leonesa’s remarkable performance earned them top spot throughout the first half of the season, with 46 points in 19 games, comprising of 14 wins, four draws and one loss.
Since the club was acquired by Aspire Zone Foundation in 2015, excitement about the club’s future has grown enormously amongst fans and members of the local community.
It has led to an influx of international coaching expertise and players from Aspire Academy, providing opportunities for them to develop their talents in a new footballing environment, noting that Cultural y Deportiva Leonesa’s line-up includes five Aspire Academy’s graduates.
This is an important part of Aspire Academy's mission to become one of the world's best football development programmes in the world.
