By Gary Anderson

August 20 - French handball champions Paris Saint-Germain took part in a pre-season camp in DohaCurrent French handball champions Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) held a pre-season training camp at the Aspire Zone Academy in Doha ahead of the start of the defence of their title which begins next month.

Established in 2003, the Aspire Zone Academy, which comes under the Aspire Zone Foundation (AZF) umbrella, has become a popular destination for some of the world's top sporting sides, including the likes of football clubs Manchester United and Barcelona, who use the facilities as a base for winter training camps in particular.

The PSG handball squad spent nine-days at the Academy as coach Philippe Gardent put his players, including Denmark's 2011 World Player of the Year Mikkel Hansen, through an intensive physical and tactical training regime.

Hansen has used the Aspire Academy facilities before when he was part of the Danish squad that competed at the 2005 International Handball Federation (IHF) Men's Youth World Championships which took place in Doha, and believes they are among the best in the world.

"In 2005, Aspire Zone Foundation was in its beginning stages and it is a pleasure to see how it has dramatically changed along with Qatar as a nation," he said.

"Aspire Zone Foundation is unique in that athletes in any sport in the world can come to train here.

"They have all of the necessary facilities and equipment for any athlete to train and I have never seen anything like this before."

Paris Saint-Germain handball players get down to business at their training camp in the Aspire Zone AcademyParis Saint-Germain handball players get down to business at their training camp in the Aspire Zone Academy





























Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad Al Thani, the Emir of Qatar, throne took over control of Paris Saint-Germain Football Club in 2011 through his company Qatar Sports Investments, and has overseen an upturn in the club's fortunes culminating in a first Ligue 1 title in 19 years, earlier this year.

The awarding of the 2022 FIFA World Cup to Qatar has also indicated the region's growing influence on the international sporting stage.

PSG handball players matched their footballing counterparts by winning the French title last seasonPSG handball players matched their footballing counterparts by winning the French title last season





Gardent pointed out that it was the close connections between Qatar and the PSG club as a whole, not only on the football side, that persuaded him to come to Doha and use the Aspire Academy facilities.

"Qatar has an important role in PSG as sole shareholders of PSG FC and they are therefore important to the handball team also," he said.

"We felt it was important to come to Qatar to familiarise ourselves with the culture and the country.

"Before coming to Qatar, I spoke with Jean-Claude Blanc [director general of PSG FC] who told me that I was going to see something remarkable at Aspire and I have not been disappointed.

"This is the first time that we have trained in such facilities and we are looking forward to coming back."

With Doha set to host the 2015 Handball World Championships, the Aspire Zone Academy is likely to see many of the top handball players in the world utilising its facilities in the build-up to the tournament.

Contact the writer of this story at [email protected]


Related Stories
May 2013: Handball Champions League joins forces with Qatar 2015 to promote World Championship
January 2011: Joy for Qatar again as they land Handball World Championships
January 2011: Region bolsters Qatar bid for 2015 Handball World Championship
January 2011: Qatar handball stadium claimed to be most advanced ever
December 2010: Qatar 2015 brings innovation to bidding with the first ever iPad bid book