German star Ozil impressed by Aspetar and Aspire Academy facilities

Ozil also visited Aspire Academy where he was welcomed to the facility by Aspire Academy Chief Sports Officer Tim Cahill and Director of Sport and Strategy Markus Egger.

German football star Mesut Ozil paid a visit to Aspetar yesterday, where he toured the hospital and learned about the cutting-edge facilities and services provided to elite athletes from a range of sports. Welcomed by Aspetar CEO Dr Abulaziz Jaham al-Kuwari, the former Real Madrid and Arsenal player got a full picture of the comprehensive services Aspetar provides to footballers and was given a glimpse of the world-leading hospital’s vision for the future. Ozil, who joined Turkish club Fenerbahçe earlier this year, noted he was proud to see Qatar organising the World Cup 2022 and expressed his great admiration for Aspetar’s facilities, commenting: “It’s the first time I’m seeing a concept like this. It’s showing that it has been thought through from A to Z, which makes it unique and important for all the sports clubs. Such kind of facilities should be available across the world. Usually in the clubs, in case of injury, the players are treated at specialised hospitals, if you have knee injury you go to a specialised hospital, if you have a mental injury you go to a mental hospital, but here I see that Aspetar has everything under one roof, really, it’s one of the best facilities I’ve ever seen.” Ozil is in Doha for a private visit to the country that will host the first World Cup in the Middle East; and where Aspetar is one of the best centres for athlete care in the world, having adopted a comprehensive vision that makes it a global reference centre in the field of sports medicine. Ozil also visited Aspire Academy yesterday. Aspire Logistics Director General, Abdulla Nasser al-Naimi led the 2014 World Cup winner and his team to the Academy after a tour of Aspetar and they were met and welcomed to the facility by Aspire Academy Chief Sports Officer Tim Cahill and Director of Sport and Strategy Markus Egger. Ozil expressed his amazement at the ingenious way Qatar has set to develop and nurture youth sporting talent through Aspire Academy and its impressive programmes. He complimented Aspire Academy for taking youth sport development to the highest level which makes Aspire the reference point for sports excellence for the rest of the world. Aspetar CEO Dr Abulaziz Jaham al-Kuwari welcomed German football star Mesut Ozil (centre) to the hospital yesterday.