Washington Spirit
  • Tickets
    • Full 90 Club
    • Matchday Memories
    • Account Manager
    • FAQs
  • Shop
  • 2020 Schedule
  • News
    • Pro
    • Reserves
    • Youth
    • En Español
  • Roster
  • Club
    • Front Office
    • Coaching Staff
    • Corporate Sponsors
  • Community
    • Support Black Owned Businesses
    • Breakaway Leadership Series
    • PK (Penelope Kix)
    • Donation Requests
    • Appearance Requests
  • Reserves
    • Spirit Reserves
    • U-23s
    • Reserves News
  • Youth
    • Alliance Development Program
    • Youth Training Centers
    • Advanced Player Development and Education
    • Youth News
  • Contact
    • Apply Here
    • Email Alerts
  • Media
    • Fall Series Credential Application
    • Spirit Media
    • Mailing List Signup
    • Media Resources
    • Stats

Washington Spirit

  • Tickets
    • Full 90 Club
    • Matchday Memories
    • Account Manager
    • FAQs
  • Shop
  • 2020 Schedule
  • News
    • Pro
    • Reserves
    • Youth
    • En Español
  • Roster
  • Club
    • Front Office
    • Coaching Staff
    • Corporate Sponsors
  • Community
    • Support Black Owned Businesses
    • Breakaway Leadership Series
    • PK (Penelope Kix)
    • Donation Requests
    • Appearance Requests
  • Reserves
    • Spirit Reserves
    • U-23s
    • Reserves News
  • Youth
    • Alliance Development Program
    • Youth Training Centers
    • Advanced Player Development and Education
    • Youth News
  • Contact
    • Apply Here
    • Email Alerts
  • Media
    • Fall Series Credential Application
    • Spirit Media
    • Mailing List Signup
    • Media Resources
    • Stats
Greetings from Doha – Days 3 and 4
NewsPro

Greetings from Doha – Days 3 and 4

by Jordan Small December 17, 2020
December 17, 2020

Spirit Nation:

Our third day in Doha started with a trip to the beautiful new Al Bayt Stadium built for the 2022 FIFA World Cup. It is a tremendous facility. The attention to every detail in providing the optimal fan and player experience is remarkable. We toured all levels of the stadium, the locker rooms and the pitch. Seeing this venue is a must for any attendee of the World Cup. We were joined on the tour by our hosts from the Qatar Embassy to the USA, staff from the US Embassy to Qatar and other dignitaries.  

In the afternoon, Qatar held their event to reveal the logo for the 2021 Qatar Year of Culture with the United States. The focal point of the event was a 5 v 5 friendly match that mixed our players with the Qatar Women’s National Team Players. The event was supported by ExxonMobil, Qatar Museums, Qatar Football Association, Qatar Olympic Committee and the Qatar Foundation.  

The event started with the Qatar Philharmonic Orchestra playing the music of renowned Qatari musician, composer, songwriter and symphonic artist Dana al Fardan. Following this introduction, leaders from Qatar, the France Ambassador to Qatar Frank Gellet, US Ambassador to Qatar Greta Holtz and via video His Excellency Ambassador Meshal bin Hamad Al Thani all expressed their sentiments regarding the revealing of the logo for the 2021 Qatar Year of Culture with the USA. It should be noted that this was the first time that women’s sports was the prominent focal point of the annual logo reveal event. Following the logo reveal the first half of the friendly match started.

At halftime, the US Air Force Central Band based in Qatar, did a fabulous job rocking the house with several songs including the Martina McBride hit, This One’s For The Girls. After the match was completed, we gave Washington Spirit jerseys to the Qatar Women’s National Team and others in attendance. Following the event, Dana al Fardan hosted dinner at her beautiful home. 

Day 4 started with a tour of the Aspire Academy in Doha. Aspire is a facility with four indoor multi-purpose arena venues, an indoor track, an indoor football pitch and football skills training area, swimming and more. It is used by both kids and clubs like Manchester United, Manchester City, Paris Saint Germain, Barcelona and others.  

Following the tour of Aspire, we toured the Aspetar Sports Medicine Hospital.  There we were shown the facilities for training and rehabilitation, physical therapy, imaging, athlete assessment, surgery, dental, sports psychology and much more. One of the most interesting parts of the facility are the Altitude Rooms. In these rooms, the climate can be controlled to simulate high altitudes to enable athletes to prepare for competitions in mountains. Finally, we saw the Football Virtual Reality Center. Be on the lookout for the video of Paige Nielsen doing her thing in VR.

After lunch, we toured the National Museum of Qatar. This tour started with an interactive event where Aubrey, Tori, Paige, Sam and Dorian were asked questions about various aspects of being a female professional athlete. We then toured the Museum and learned about some of the history of Qatar.

Our final event of the day was a meeting with executives from beIN Sports and a tour of their facilities. We learned during this tour that Qatar was selected as the host of the 2030 Asian Games.  

So there is your update for Days 3 and 4.  As you can see, our days have been filled with unique and awesome experiences. The event revealing the logo of the 2021 Qatar Year of Culture with the USA was a great day for advancing female sports in Qatar, which is an important element of this journey to Doha. Be on the lookout for some incredible words from a seven-year-old Qatari girl that I befriended during the event.

All the best. 

Steve

From The OwnerGreetings From DohaSteve Baldwin

You May Also Be Interested In

Y. Michele Kang Joins Washington...

December 29, 2020

Y. Michele Kang se une...

December 29, 2020

Recent Posts

  • Washington Spirit sign Swedish international Julia Roddar to a multi-year contract

    January 26, 2021
  • Washington Spirit Add Five Players in the 2021 NWSL Draft

    January 14, 2021
  • Washington Spirit select Mariana Speckmaier 39th overall in the 2021 NWSL Draft

    January 13, 2021
  • Washington Spirit select Sydney Schneider 29th overall in the 2021 NWSL Draft

    January 13, 2021
  • Washington Spirit select Anna Heilferty 19th overall in the 2021 NWSL Draft

    January 13, 2021

Categories

  • App
  • Archive
  • Editorial
  • En Español
  • News
  • Pro
  • Reserves
  • Sponsorship
  • Uncategorized
  • Youth

Connect With Us

Facebook Twitter Instagram Youtube Email RSS
  • © Washington Soccer Properties LLC All Rights Reserved
  • Terms of Use
  • Privacy Policy