26 Apr 2026
One of Romania’s greatest ever footballers, Gheorghe Hagi, was the headline speaker for Aspire Academy’s Workshop Tour event in Bucharest.
The gathering at the National Arena was the third stop on the Workshop Tour and the first time it has been hosted in Europe.
The tour is a key part of Aspire Academy’s support for the development of global youth football through its worldwide programme, Aspire in the World Fellows.
The three-day event, which attracted more than a thousand guests, was held in collaboration with the Romanian Football Federation (FRF), European football’s governing body UEFA and the European Union.
The first two days featured Star Chats, expert presentations and practical sessions. The third day was dedicated to Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) activities for children that promoted sustainability.
The highlight of the first day was the Star Chat with Romanian legend Gheorghe Hagi, who spoke just minutes before being unveiled as the new coach of the Romania National Team.
The 61-year-old, who starred for local club Steaua Bucharest as well as both Real Madrid and Barcelona in Spain and won the UEFA Cup with Turkey’s Galatasaray, said Romania could learn a lot from Qatar in terms of football development.
“It’s very important to host such big events like this one; it’s good for learning, for progressing, for trying to be better,” he said.
“I think it’s very good for all the young coaches out there because it’s important to invest in young people, because if you invest in young people, they can live healthily until they are 100!”
“We have to put in a lot of money and a lot of time to get good coaches and into infrastructure; as you have done in Qatar, you have done it very well.”
The second day’s Star Chat was with another former Romania international, Ilie Dumitrescu, who said being connected with the event and Aspire Academy was a huge boost for his nation’s football team.
“It's a big honour for me to be a speaker at this event. It's a major event for our football academies. The number of people was amazing,” he explained.
“It's very good for all the coaches to have this experience, and they have the chance to subscribe to the Aspire in the World Fellows website to see the analysis and all the information on there, which will help them a lot.”
“We are honoured to be part of the Fellows, alongside big names in football, both federations and clubs.”
“It's fantastic for all the people who are involved in football in Romania to be connected with the Aspire Academy. Now we can look forward to developing across the five key areas: physical, technique, tactic, mental and social.”
Over the two days, theoretical sessions were delivered by Valter di Salvo and Daniele Bonanno (both from Aspire Academy), Venere Quintiero (Inter Milan), Mark Rivers (Arsenal), Vito Azzone (Italian Football Federation), Jinsung Yoon (Fitogether), and Andrada Vincze and Vlad Lakatoș (both from the FRF).
Practical sessions and demonstrative training sessions also took place, led by Corné Groenendijk (AFC Ajax), João Santos (Sporting CP), Gerard Trives Guardiola (FC Barcelona), and Adrian Dulcea (FRF).
On the third day, there was a Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) event at the FRF’s Buftea National Football Centre with more than 100 children aged between 10 and 14 from local academies taking part.
The session was aimed at promoting sustainability and held in conjunction with UEFA, whose Executive Director for Social and Environmental Sustainability, Michele Uva, thanked Aspire Academy afterwards.
“Thank you to Aspire Academy for not only coming to Europe but also to Romania, to inspire our football,” he enthused.
“It's important to share information, to share scientific evidence, and I think it is the best way to grow, the best way to improve the football experience is to discuss how to move forward.”
“Thank you for opening up this huge platform to help explain that football is joy, but we need to combine the joy with respect.”
“Respect for the environment, respect for the teammates, respect for the opponents, respect for the referees, respect for the coaches.”
Răzvan Burleanu, President of the FRF, thanked everyone who participated in the event and recognised the role that Aspire Academy can play in developing football at all levels in Romania.
“Our partnership with Aspire Academy brings world-class expertise to align with international standards and to equip coaches to develop the next generation of players from a technical, tactical, physical, and mental standpoint,” he said.
“This event is a key step in improving the training of coaches who work with children and youth, and the participation of so many coaches shows Romania’s strong appetite for continuous development.”
“This summit is both a learning space and a long-term FRF commitment to raise standards in youth football through education, innovation, and new opportunities.”
Aspire Academy’s dedication to sharing knowledge and expertise will continue later this year when the Aspire in the World Fellows meet for their 12th annual Global Summit.