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By Steve Hughes<br />
In energy industry circles, the small<br />
Gulf Emirate of Qatar is renowned for its<br />
stable crude oil supplies and growing<br />
gas capability (it became the world’s<br />
leading LNG exporter in 2007). But there<br />
is a side to this fast-developing and<br />
exciting country of 800,000 people that<br />
is even threatening to put its petroleum<br />
prominence into the shade. Qatar<br />
possesses what can only be described<br />
as a spectacular sports academy,<br />
which is providing hundreds of young<br />
athletes with a chance to become world<br />
champions in their chosen disciplines.<br />
In boasting some of the best training<br />
and sport science facilities to be found<br />
anywhere in the world, ASPIRE is leading<br />
the way in fostering a strong sporting<br />
culture by educating communities<br />
about the benefits of an active and<br />
healthy lifestyle. The venture is also<br />
strengthening the state’s position as a<br />
centre of sporting excellence.<br />
Theatre of dreams<br />
‘There is a place for those who dare to dream’ is a might-<br />
ily-brave advertising slogan in anyone’s book. And it<br />
appears especially courageous when used by a relatively<br />
new sports school that is full to bursting with talented,<br />
but impressionable, young students, all desperately<br />
keen to emulate the legendary achievements of their<br />
sporting heroes.<br />
But this isn’t just any ordinary sports school. This is<br />
ASPIRE — Qatar’s visionary sports academy that has risen<br />
from Doha’s desert sands, like a beacon of<br />
hope for sports-mad youngsters from across<br />
the Arab world. “The original idea and<br />
inspiration came from His Highness Sheikh<br />
Jassem bin Hamad Al Thani,” explains Dr<br />
Andreas Bleicher, ASPIRE’s Sports Director.<br />
“[His Highness] recognized the enormous<br />
potential for good that a dedicated academy<br />
of athletic and educational excellence<br />
could have, both for the children of Qatar<br />
and for the sporting reputation of Qatar as<br />
a whole.”<br />
Established in 2004, with support from<br />
the government, ASPIRE boasts some of<br />
the biggest and best state-of-the-art sport- Dr Andreas Bleicher, ASPIRE<br />
ing facilities the planet has ever seen. As Sports Director.<br />
a result, its PR machine claims, it is set to<br />
realize the dreams of children everywhere.<br />
And those with enough promise to be accepted onto<br />
the academy’s books would not be blamed for dreaming<br />
very big dreams indeed. That is because ASPIRE’s<br />
vision is to discover the most talented individuals<br />
<strong>OPEC</strong> bulletin 6/08<br />
35
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