Mr. Tashima and his associates were welcomed by senior officials from Aspetar. The delegation was briefed about the services the hospital provides to athletes and received a comprehensive tour of Aspetar’s facilities, including the Sports Surgery Training Centre (SSTC), media imaging, rehab facilities, orthopaedic surgery centre, the Altitude Dormitory and west expansion departments.

Commenting on the visit, Mr. Kozo Tashima said:

I am here today to visit Aspetar, the renowned sports medicine hospital. It's an impressive facility, attracting many top international athletes, especially footballers, who come from all over the world for surgery, rehabilitation and [medical] consultation. In Japan, we hope to construct a similar facility. It is not easy, but Aspetar has provided Asia and the world with an excellent model to follow. It is known around the world as a top sports medicine hospital and I am proud to be able to say we have such a hospital in Asia.

Mr. Tashima went on to add that a football centre is currently under construction in Tokyo and said the Japanese Olympic Committee and the Japan Institute of Sports Sciences would consider cooperation opportunities with Aspetar and Aspire Academy.

At Aspire Academy, Mr. Kozo Tashima received a tour of the Academy’s premises and sports science laboratories, including its new extension building, the state-of-the-art Football Performance Centre, which is still under construction.

Speaking about the Football Performance Centre, Mr. Tashima said:

I guarantee this Football Performance Centre will be the best of its kind in the world. It is amazing. I’m sure it will benefit Aspire Academy’s young footballers and the QFA’s national teams in the years leading up to the 2022 FIFA World Cup Qatar™ and beyond.

Aspire Academy aims to enhance the physical performance of Aspire Academy football players. The modern methodology put in place is based on a holistic view that integrates all the physical, physiological and psychological variables that influence football performance. The holistic approach supports the football players by implementation of a modern concept of training methodology that is delivered by performance experts with access to cutting edge technologies.

In addition to being the region’s leading orthopedic and sports medicine hospital, Aspetar is a Weill Cornell Medical College Qatar teaching hospital. It has also been accredited by the Gulf Cooperation Council as a specialist hospital for the region, by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) as an IOC Research Centre for Prevention of Injury and Protection of Athlete Health, and by the Federation Internationale the Football Association (FIFA) as a FIFA Medical Centre of Excellence.

 Since opening its doors in 2004, Aspire Academy has become one of the foremost national sports academies in the world. Working as part of the Aspire Zone Foundation – a comprehensive sports complex – Aspire Academy is at the heart of a sporting revolution currently taking place in Qatar and around the region. The Academy is conceiving, promoting and implementing game-changing initiatives to drive excellence in sports training and elite athlete development. Its efforts are enabling an entire generation of talented, disciplined and committed individuals to pursue their sporting dreams.

 About Aspetar:

Aspetar is a world leading specialised orthopaedic and sports medicine hospital, and the first of its kind in the Middle East. Since 2007, with a world expert team, the hospital has provided top-level comprehensive medical treatment to all athletes in a state-of-the-art facility that sets new standards internationally.

In 2009, Aspetar was accredited as a “FIFA Medical Centre of Excellence” by F-MARC. In 2013, Aspetar was adopted as a reference collaborator centre by the Gulf Countries Council (GCC) Health Ministers Council and “IOC Research Centre for Prevention of Injury and Protection of Athlete Health” in 2014.

In 2015, Aspetar has been recognised as the “IHF Reference Centre for Athlete and Referee Health”. In the same year, the hospital also achieved the obtained on December 15 the Accreditation Canada International (ACI) “Platinum Level”.

Aspetar is a member–organisation of Aspire Zone Foundation, Qatar’s innovative sports and healthy lifestyle destination.