On Sunday 28 and Monday 29 May, Marco Montini, athletic trainer of the National Under-19 team, and Maria Luisa Cravana, nutritionist of the National Under-21 team, were guests of the Aspire Academy as part of the UEFA Assist programme, which since 2019 has seen the Qatar Football Association (QFA) collaborating with the FIGC in a series of activities to share know-how and experience.

Montini presented the Qatar national youth team staff with the planned activities with the Under-19 team in preparation for the 2023 European Championship in their category, while at the same time exploring Aspire Academy and QFA's training facilities and methodology. "It was an engaging experience and gave me the opportunity not only to see some incredible facilities with technology applied to football but also the chance to exchange relevant information in the field of performance with my Qatari colleagues," said Montini.

During her two days in Doha, Maria Luisa Cravana, in addition to exchanging ideas with her nutrition colleagues from the Qatari national teams, also gave a lecture to the coaches participating in the AFC Pro course organised at the Aspire Academy. "Aspire Football Performance Centre is a wonderful facility with professionals doing important work to ensure the growth of Qatari football at international level. I hope my contribution can help this continuous growth process," Cravana explained.

Valter Di Salvo, Head of the Performance and Research Area of Club Italia emphasised the importance of this UEFA Assist project: "It is a great honour for a technical delegation from the Italian Football Association to contribute to the training of colleagues from the Qatari performance area within the framework of the UEFA Assist programme between the FIGC and QFA," he said. "This two-day knowledge exchange also allowed our technicians to visit the Aspire Academy Football Performance Centre, which is currently considered a world reference in football performance.

This visit is part of a series of numerous exchanges planned for 2023 and follows the visit of the national football team's athletic trainer, Claudio Donatelli, in January. Last September, on the other hand, Al Shamal coach Wissam Rizik had attended the Italian Under-21 team's training camp. An experience that the former Qatar captain described as 'very instructive and valuable'.