Three local and two international levels of talent identification exist to identify prospective Academy student-athletes. At the local level, ASPIRE conducts basic and advanced multi-sport and sport-specific sport skill development programs in the schools and at ASPIRE Dome for 6- to 12-year-old boys and girls. Also at the local level, ASPIRE’s sports scientists conduct a Talent Identification Program (TID), testing over 2,400 sixth grade boys to find athletes with potential. Finally, federation and Academy coaches observe athletes participating in existing youth sport programs, or federation programs, in Qatar, who are then nominated to participate in the Talent Identification Program testing.

Internationally, ASPIRE’s Football Dreams program screens over 700,000 footballers in underdeveloped countries in Asia, Africa, and Latin America. Academy coaches in other sports also identify international talents through observation visits to other countries or at international youth competitions. These international programs result in the award of ASPIRE scholarships to international athletes who attend the Academy.