ASPETAR - Qatar Orthopaedic and Sports Medicine Hospital Named FIFA Medical Centre of Excellence

DOHA, Qatar - ASPETAR - Qatar Orthopaedic and Sports Medicine Hospital was officially named as a FIFA Medical Centre of Excellence. Following the strategy implemented with the opening of the first FIFA Medical Centre of Excellence at the Schulthess Clinic in Zurich in May 2005, world football’s governing body has proceeded to set a worldwide network of FIFA Medical Centres of Excellence to ensure that players have access to high quality football medicine.

So far, ten football medicine centres have received the official accreditation after an evaluation by the FIFA Medical Committee. This selection is based upon a comprehensive application process to prove their clinical, educational and research expertise, their practical involvement in the care of teams and their active commitment to preventing injuries.

After the recent inauguration of the University Medical Centre Regensburg in March, FIFA Executive Committee member Dr Michel D’Hooghe, Chairman of the FIFA Medical Committee and President of the FIFA Medical Assessment and Research Centre (F-MARC), and Prof. Jiri Dvorak, MD, FIFA Chief Medical Officer and Chairman of F-MARC officially presented Dr Mohammed GA Al Maadheed with the accreditation certificate for ASPETAR.

“ASPETAR is a young institution with global goals and ambitions. We are honoured by this Accreditation and feel that this reflects the strong link between the vision and objectives of ASPETAR and those of FIFA and F-MARC” said Dr Maadheed, Director General of ASPETAR. “The investment in world class facilities, initially supported by an international advisory panel, has ensured that ASPETAR has attracted a multinational staff with vast expertise. This has resulted in an environment second to none for the treatment of football injuries and illness across the continuum of care. Furthermore, we hope that this combination will ensure that ASPETAR significantly contributes to the body of knowledge being accumulated by F-MARC and the Medical Centre Network.”

The vision behind creating a network of medical centres across the world is to ensure that players on all continents know who to turn to for expert care in football medicine, such as the prevention of injuries, early detection of risk factors for sudden cardiac death, as well as state-of-the-art diagnosis and therapy services. ASPETAR’s sports medicine physicians, orthopaedic surgeons, musculoskeletal radiologists, physiotherapists, and sports scientits provide a high quality multi disciplinary approach to the treatment of sports injuries. ASPETAR’s Research and Education Centre provides the necessary infrastructure to ensure that relevant research is conducted and applied through medical and allied health practitioners.

Through its National Sports Medicine Programme ASPETAR has a major commitment to football medicine. Doctors, physiotherapists, nutritionists and psychologists are responsible for the medical care of the Qatar National Team, ASPIRE Academy and all clubs within the Qatar Premier League. They are committed to injury prevention and have been using ‘F-MARC’s ‘11′ programme within ASPETAR and their various teams.

“The accumulated body of knowledge in football medicine needs to be practically implemented so that players can fully benefit form state-of-the-art prevention, treatment and rehabilitation,” said Prof Dvorak. “FIFA Medical Centres of Excellence like ASPETAR ensure this. In addition, they educate and train the next generation of clinical specialists and scientists committed to football medicine.”

Uche Udeozo PhD Account Manager Hill and Knowlton Direct Line: +974-4181292 Mobile/Cell: +974-5576259 uche.udeozo@hillandknowlton.com

Source: ASPETAR

Uche Udeozo PhD, Account Manager, Hill and Knowlton, Direct Line: +974-4181292, Mobile/Cell: +974-5576259, uche.udeozo at hillandknowlton.com