President of US Chamber of Commerce Visits AZF/Aspetar Aspire Zone Foundation (AZF) signs MoU with the Texas Health Resources (THR)

The New Partnership aims to create a sports medicine Centre of Excellence in North Texas

11 September 2018 – Doha, Qatar:

Mr. Thomas Donohue, the President and CEO of US Chamber of Commerce, and a delegation of the US Chamber of Commerce and Texas Health - Dallas (THR) had a tour in Aspetar during their visit to Doha these days.

On the occasion of this visit, and rounding off months of preparations and joint discussions between the two parties, Aspire Zone Foundation (AZF) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Texas Health – Dallas organization (THR). The MoU sets for a strategic partnership to create a joint Center of Excellence focused on research, training, performance and sports medicine in the United States, which shall expand the mission and goals of both organizations.

The MoU was signed at Aspetar’s headquarters in Doha by Dr. Abdulaziz Al-Kuwari, CEO of Aspetar, and Dr. Steven Singleton, Chief Medical Officer at THR.

During his tour in Aspetar, Mr. Donohue expressed his admiration of the prominent level of facilities and expertise that are embraced in Aspetar. Commenting on the MoU signature, Mr. Donohue stated that what brought this collaboration between AZF and THR together is a group of visionaries in Qatar who were aware that the world soccer events will be held here. They had a rich background in sports, medicine, surgeries and rehabilitation and put all that together to build such an example of world class of how to do this. They knew what they needed then was to bring a facility from the USA that is rich with great doctors and surgeons, and this partnership is what is going to make this work. He expressed that this is a real opportunity for collaboration which has not been seen for a long time, but now the two teams succeeded in bringing it to reality.

“We are extremely proud that US THR is interested to collaborate with us to establish an Aspetar-like orthopodeic hospital in Texas, which is a new indication of the proficient level that Aspetar has reached in the field of sports medicine and the international reputation it has gained through its unique expertise.” Said Mr. Mohammed Khalifa Al-Suwaidi, CEO of AZF and Director General of Aspetar.

“We see this collaboration as another sign of the strong and deep relationship between Qatar and the USA on different levels, and the timing couldn’t be better with Qatar being a host of the FIFA World Cup in 2022 and North Texas being a site for matches when the U.S. hosts the World Cup in 2026.For us, this collaboration furthers our progress towards achieving AZF vision to become the Reference in Sports Excellence World-wide by 2020.” Al-Suwaidi added.

“We’re committed to advancing our sports medicine program in North Texas and are excited about what the future holds for athletes in the area,” said Dr. Steven Singleton, Chief Medical Officer for Texas Health Resources and a physician with Texas Health Physicians Group. “An organization like Aspire has a strong track record of sports-medicine research, education and advanced orthopedic treatments within an internationally-recognized program.”

The MoU paves the way for three core elements of collaboration through the new affiliation: A Research Program to advance the science of sports medicine and to promote and propagate the services of the CoE; An Outreach/Sports Performance Program designed to provide services to and meet the unique but related needs of professional athletes and teams, and collegiate and high school athletes; and Clinical Services needed to support the research, outreach and sports performance programs.

Building off the performance, treatment, rehab and research initiatives Aspetar, a member organization of Aspire Zone Foundation, has undertaken to be a global leader in sports medicine and exercise science in advance of the Qatar hosted 2022 FIFA World Cup, the proposed affiliation will be designed to achieve similar global and regional recognition in advance of the North America hosted 2026 FIFA World Cup.

US high-level delegation included also Khush Chosky, SVP and Head of Middle East Program at US Chamber of Commerce, Chris Roberti, Chief of Staff and Senior Vice President at US Chamber of Commerce, Steve Lutes, Director Middle East Program at US Chamber of Commerce, Dr. Steven Singleton, Chief Medical Medical Office, Texas Health Dallas - USA, Thomas Donohue Jr, Founder and CEO of Adelphi Capital and Gareth Moore, VP of Adelphi Capital.

-Ends-

About Aspire Zone Foundation / Aspetar:

Aspire Zone Foundation (AZF) was established by Emiri decree (1) that was announced on the 1^st January 2008 in order to develop a world-class sporting environment, enhance sports performance and contribute to producing elite local athletes with a comprehensive academic, athletic and mental education fit to compete in various local and global competitions. AZF also seeks to promote an active and healthy lifestyle among local community members and encourage the growth and development of the sports economy in Qatar to support the Human Development Pillar as outlined in the Qatar National Vision 2030.

AZF works closely with its three member organisations, Aspire Academy, Aspetar and Aspire Logistics, as one integrated institution in a unique ‘Aspire way’ working model. Each of the member organisations has its own specific role in support of AZF's overall objectives to help it realise its vision of being the reference in sports excellence worldwide by 2020.

 AZF is unique because it hosts some of the world's best indoor and outdoor facilities and pitches all in one place. These include the Khalifa International Stadium, a 2022 FIFA World Cup Qatar™ host venue, the Aspire Dome, the largest multi-purpose dome of its kind in the world, Hamad Aquatic Centre and two hotels: The Torch Doha Hotel and Al Aziziyah Boutique Hotel. Together, these make Aspire Zone a leading sports hub in Qatar and the preferred training destination for elite local, regional and international athletes.

AZF also caters to the needs of recreational athletes and local community members of all ages to promote a culture of healthy and active lifestyles through its Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiatives, which offer various sporting, entertainment, social and cultural activities for people in Qatar.

Aspetar, member organisation of AZF, 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”.