Performance
Developing Qatar’s athletic talent from youth to Olympic level through structured pathways and excellence programs.
Qatar Performance Pathway
The Qatar Performance Pathway outlines a structured progression for athletes from grassroots to elite levels.
Starting at U14 with fun-focused club activities, athletes progress through age groups (U16, U18, U20, and Senior) with increasing emphasis on performance focused specialized training.
The pathway is supported by Qatar Foundation’s Creating Pathways Program for girls and Aspire Academy for boys. Both institutions conduct year-round talent identification initiatives by visiting schools and Clubs across Qatar. They also scout talent at all local competitions, including Kids Festivals and school sports days.
Athletes with the potential to win medals at Asian and World age group (U18 and U20) or senior level can be selected to compete for Qatar National Team in international competition and may also be selected to enter the Darb Al-Amjid (Road to Glories) programme.
Qatar’s elite performance support program, Darb Al-Majd (Road to Glories) progresses athletes from Breakthrough Stars (developing potential) to Podium Confirmation, Asian Podium, and ultimately Olympic Podium. The program aims to ensure all athletes develop the skills and performance behaviours necessary to perform at their best on the world stage. Support provided covers all areas relevant to their selected event including lifestyle, physical preparation, mental preparation as well as tactical and technical aspects.
Clubs play a vital role at every stage of the pathway, ensuring a seamless transition from fun to high-performance realization. If you wish to reach your full potential and have your talent recognised the simplest way is to join one of Qatar’s nine Sports Clubs.
Sports Clubs
The 9 Sports Clubs affiliated to QAF are each staffed by a cohort of professional coaches. They support athletes at all stages of the performance pathway.
Clubs are the foundation of all Athletics in Qatar
Athletes registered with a Club can be referred to Aspetar Sports Medicine Hospital in case of injury and may be selected to compete in QAF’s domestic competition circuit.
As well as coaching and access to facilities, many Clubs also offer support with training equipment as well as suite of other benefits. These benefits typically increase with age and performance level, in line with Club priorities.
Talent Development
The process of developing talent in Track and Field typically starts at the U14 age group with international age group competition beginning in the U18 age category when athletes are 16 or 17 years of age.
International competitions start at U18 (Youth) when athletes are 16 or 17 years old.
While Sports Clubs and Private Academies provide weekly coaching typically starting in the U14 age group, Qatar has two national institutions dedicated to developing young athletes – Qatar Foundation and Aspire Academy.
Qatar Foundation – Creating Pathways
Qatar Foundation Creating Pathways Program aims to provide aspiring sports women with a structured training environment in Track and Field. The program is open to all girls aged 18 and below living in Qatar. Identified talents receive unparallel support with personalised coaching, performance and medical support.
Aspire Academy
Aspire Academy offers fully paid scholarships to athletes who are identified as having strong long-term potential to compete at Asian and World level in Athletics. The program is open to all Qatar residents and includes an option to attend Aspire Academy school on a full-time basis in addition to the option to train as an Aspire affiliated athlete without the educational component.
Aspire Academy focuses on boys from grade 7 to 12 (approximately 13 to 19 years of age)
Athletes selected to join Aspire Academy get access to one of the world’s best athlete development programs including personalised coaching, performance and medical support. The highest performing athletes also have access to international training camps and competition opportunities.
How can I join Aspire Academy?
Student-Athlete scholarships can be obtained at every school grade from 7 through to 12 but are limited based on merit and availability. Across all grades Aspire offers around 80-100 scholarships to Qatar’s aspiring Athletics talent.
Boys Entry – Grade 7
Pre-Academy
Places in grade 7 are awarded to boys who attend Aspire’s Pre-Academy Program, which runs on a weekly basis from three talent centres across Qatar – North, South and on site at Aspire Academy. Each centre can accommodate roughly 50 boys who are selected based on merit from a country wide scouting imitative.
Each year Aspire visits most of the government primary schools in Qatar and tests around 3,500 students in grades 5 and 6. The best 150 are then invited to Pre-Academy centres and after careful observation and testing those identified as having strong long-term potential are offered scholarships to enter Aspire Academy in grade 7.
As well as schools, Aspire scouts also attend kids festivals, sports days at private schools and undertake weekly “walk-on” testing for potential talents. In short, if you are in grade 5 or 6 and demonstrate strong potential in Athletics, Aspire will consider you for the program.
Contact:
Mohamed Hamdi – 4413 6448
Jamile Hamdan – 4413 6109
Boys Entry – Grades 8-12
Affiliated Training
Scholarships to enter grades 8-12 are awarded in June each year to athletes that have been training as Aspire affiliated athletes across the previous season. Places are awarded to athletes based on long term potential and dedication to training.
The easiest way to be identified is to join a Sports Club and compete at a local competition. Aspire coaches are in regular contact with Club coaches who introduce them to new potential talents. However, if you are a resident of Qatar and not a member of a Club you can contact Aspire directly by approaching any coach in person or via the Aspire website to be assessed for suitability.
Girl’s Program (U12 – U18)
Aspire run a small girl’s program (upto 30 spaces) for athletes aged 11 to 16 in collaboration with Qatar Foundation. The program aims to develop athletes with long-term potential to compete in international competition at U18 age groups and above.
Following a trial period promising athletes experience a rounded development program modelled on the standard Aspire Academy Athletics curriculum.
Contact:
Sulaf Daghir – 4413 6645
Qatar National Team
Qatar National Team employs a roster of professional coaches across all four event groups – Sprints, Jumps, Throws and Endurance. Training is primarily conducted out of Aspire Zone facilities with most groups training six days per week.
Athletes invited to train with Qatar National Team coaches’ benefit from elite training partners as well as priority access to medical and performance support services.
Most athletes training with the Qatar National Team will also be benefit from support through Darb Al-Majd.
Darb Al-Majd
Darb Al-Majd (Road to Glory) is QAF’s cornerstone performance initiative aimed at supporting athletes with the potential to win medals on the world stage at Asian Games, World Championships, and Olympic Games. Backed by national funding and strategic partnerships, it balances immediate medal aspirations with the long-term cultivation of future champions.
Darb Al-Amjad nurtures potential future senior Asian, World and Olympic medallists through three distinct stages:
Breakthrough Stars
Primarily targeting athletes in the U18 and U20 age group, this stage focuses on developing athletes with the skills and performance behaviours necessary to reach the medal zone.
Podium Confirmation
Supports athletes with potential to enter the senior medal zone for roughly 2-4 years, until their talent is confirmed.
Asian Podium
Focuses on converting athletes approaching the medal zone at the Asian Games into medallists.
Olympic Podium
Focuses on converting athletes approaching the medal zone at Olympic Games and World Championships into medallists.
Support & Resources
Athletes selected for Darb Al-Amjaad can benefit from:
Coaching
Performance Support
Facilities
Detailed Analysis
Camps
