By Sports Reporter/Doha

The 2015-16 season of Aspire Academy’s Tri-Series football tournament, a unique competition which brings together youth teams from Aspire Academy with those from some of the world’s most established and best-known clubs, kicks off today.  
Now in its fourth year, the Tri-Series tournament has gone from strength to strength and this year features U-15, U-16 and U-17 football teams from clubs around the world, with German club Eintracht Frankfurt and Argentine club Estudiantes De La Plata due to participate in the first tournament of the season.  The tournament, which runs in a season circle from October 2015 till June 2016, gives more than 9 of the Academy’s youth teams exposure to different playing styles, management philosophies and tactics from around the globe. The opportunity to play against opposition from some of the world’s most established footballing countries helps the Academy’s players develop their talent and fulfil their potential, and is vital part of the Academy’s commitment to enabling the sporting success of its student-athletes.
The number of teams that have visited Aspire Academy to compete in the Tri-Series tournament has grown steadily since it launched in 2012. Last year, a total of 35 clubs and associations participated in the tournament, with another 35 due to take part in this year’s competition. Participating teams have included major football clubs such as Liverpool FC (England), Paris St-Germain (France), Ajax Amsterdam (Netherlands), Zenit St. Petersburg (Russia), Nagoya Grampus Eight (Japan), Esperance de Tunis (Tunisia) and Palmeiras (Brazil) as well as national youth teams from Canada and Denmark.
The selection criteria for overseas teams taking part in the Tri-Series competition included a strong emphasis on the nature of their youth development programmes, in addition to their standard of football and footballing style. During their time in Qatar, representatives from the visiting clubs are also invited to present their philosophy and management approach when working with junior players, which is of considerable benefit both to coaches at Aspire Academy as well as those of the Qatar National teams.
The Tri-Series tournament has helped play a major role in the development of Aspire Academy’s student-athletes to date by enabling coaches to benchmark the performance of the Academy’s teams with the world’s best, and help the Academy’s players develop a healthy competitive mentality that pushes them to excel.
Commenting on the launch of the Aspire Academy Tri-Series competition, Roberto Olabe, Aspire Academy’s Football Director said: “This competition delivers real benefit to our coaches and players both in terms of the competitive experience it provides, as well as the opportunity to share knowledge, ideas and experience with talented footballers from around the world. It fits exactly with our ambition to find and nurture talented stars and support their progress, not only on the field but also by providing access to a unique educational environment.
By bringing some of the world’s finest youth teams together and helping our student-athletes develop their skills and talent, the Tri-Series is an ideal expression of Aspire Academy’s vision to be recognised as the world’s leading sports academy in the development of youth athletes by 2020.”