Last time, we spoke with Ciaran Kelly, Technical Director at Lusail Football Academy (LFA), to talk a little bit about his background, the different programs the academy offers, its coaching styles and methodologies and plans moving into the future.

This week, our All & About team recently spoke with the President of LFA, Nawaf Al Mudahka, to ask about his background, how him and Keith Young started the LFA and the importance of keeping a strong connection with their community.

Nawaf Al Mudahka, President of Lusail Football Academy

Let’s look at what he has to say in further detail:

“I was a player for Qatar’s national football team under Aspire Academy for a little over 8 years. When I stopped playing football, Keith Young and I started Doha Pearl Academy which was mainly just for fun, friendly football. After some time, Keith and I sat down and made plans to make a special, more serious football club which was different from the others here in Qatar. Most of the clubs here only think of the competitive aspect to the sport; to win leagues essentially. We wanted to focus more on the parents and the kids, how we can develop them not just in football, but in attitude, ethically and socially. We wanted to attract both the parents and the kids and that’s how Lusail Football Academy came about. It’s open to both the parents and their kids.

Our academy team first started in the 3rd division which we won and were crowned champions. Now, we’re starting in the 2nd division, under the QFA. Even though we’ve grown, our strategies have remained the same; how we can train and develop the players AND the parents in all aspects. We’re all about family football. It was difficult at first, but with a lot of effort and hard work, we’re here today with over 400 members in LFA, and I’m very grateful for that.

Left: Nawaf Al Mudhakha; Right: Keith Young

Since we’re all about family football, it’s really important that we emphasize the importance of kids having fun and that no one gets left behind in their football journey. Just ask some of the parents of our kids in the academy.

When I was younger, I had to persuade my father to let me play football but nowadays it’s the other way around! The parents take their kids and come to the academy. I see some of them walk around the academy and have coffee. We also have conversations with them to help their kids’ development as we believe that the parents are the most important factor when it comes to their child’s overall development.

Thanks to the many partnerships we have with many companies, such as Lusail and Aspire, we‘re able to work with a variety of youth centers here in Qatar, along with the support of the Ministry of Sport and Culture. We always cooperate with a lot of places in order to keep a strong bond with our community and their response has not only been all positive, it’s been amazing! There are more people talking about Lusail Football Academy now.

Technical Director Ciaran Kelly (left) and Club President Nawaf Al Mudahka (second from the right) with players from both our Academy and first team

Anyone is welcome to join the academy. We’ve slowly started working with schools to bring forth anything football related, be it camps, workshops, you name it! We’re now preparing to go to some of the schools and set up training facilities there with the help of our highly qualified coaches, all of whom are UEFA approved and qualified.

Moving forward, we will maintain the same philosophies we currently have. Not only that, we also want to be more caring towards the kids and their parents, to develop them, not just in football, but in all aspects. It’s more important for us that everyone has fun in this process. We’re really taking the initiative here in Lusail to make football more enjoyable for everyone.

Keith Young (left) & Nawaf Al Mudahka (middle) with players from the Academy

LFA is open to anyone. All are welcome. We promise to everyone that Lusail Football Academy is growing and will soon become a place where parents and kids will be able to enjoy, relax and socialize more. There will also be opportunities for kids to play against other clubs very soon. Additionally, we’re looking to expand into more sports such as basketball and taekwondo in the near future.”

Registrations for the Lusail Football Academies are now open! The new season had already started this September 12th!

If your child wants to participate, don’t hesitate any further and register today via www.lfa.qa or contact their admin team on +974 3067 7463.

Make sure to follow their journey on their social media channels:

-Instagram: @lusail_fa & @lusailsc

-Facebook: @LusailFA