Spain’s Iker Casillas to open goalkeeper training centre in Dubai

Former Real Madrid star goalkeeper and Spanish national team captain Iker Casillas will launch his first goalkeeper training centre outside of Spain in Dubai.

Called the Iker Casillas Goalkeeper Training Centre, it has been established in partnership with Dubai’s Fursan Hispania FC, helmed by former Spain international football star Michel Salgado, and will hone the skills of aspiring young goalkeepers from the UAE and the region, as well as established club and country professionals and goalkeeping coaches.

Fursan Hispania will also scout for the best goalkeeping talent from the UAE and the region, and recommend them for a full-boarding programme at the Iker Casillas Academy in Madrid, Spain.

The centre will offer three different products tailored to suit different needs – a Weekly Programme, a Programme for Goalkeeping Coaches and a more comprehensive Fursan Goalkeeping Implant Programme.

The Weekly Programme will be held four times a year and it will be aimed at players from around the GCC region. Each weekly programme will be carried out over six days, with six hours of practical and theory lessons each day. The programme will be hosted by Fursan Hispania and overseen by ICA coaches, and it will be tailored to the specific technical needs of players ranging from age 8 to 21.

The Programme for Goalkeeping Coaches will also be based on the ICA methodology and it will be open to coaches from around the GCC and Middle East, and tailored to their needs.

Sports legend @IkerCasillas chooses #Dubai to open his debut goalkeeper training centre outside Spain in partnership with Fursan Hispania and Dubai Sport Council. @DubaiSC pic.twitter.com/MfH4oonVyL

— Dubai Media Office (@DXBMediaOffice) September 8, 2021

Meanwhile, the Fursan Goalkeeping Implant Programme will cater to goalkeepers of different levels, with the coaching team working under the quality standards and methodology of Casillas.

The Iker Casillas Goalkeeper Training Centre and Fursan Hispania will also work with Dubai Sports Council to develop UAE-specific programmes, which include an elite programme that caters to goalkeepers from the UAE’s football leagues as well as goalkeepers from other Middle East and North Africa leagues.

“The programme has been developed by one of the finest goalkeepers in football history – a legend who has won a World Cup (2010) and two European titles (2008 and 2012) as captain of Spain, and numerous other titles in a long and illustrious career with his club Real Madrid. Casillas has a few equals in football history, and the fact that he has chosen Dubai to launch this specialised programme for goalkeepers reaffirms Dubai’s position as one of the world’s leading centres for the development of sports talent and coaches, and the preferred destination for investment in the sports sector,” said Saeed Hareb, secretary-general of Dubai Sports Council.

Hoy es un día muy importante para mí. Hemos presentado en Dubái la primera #IkerCasillasAcademy en la sede de @DubaiSC junto @SaeedHareb, @TheRealSalgado, @AIXinvestment para una formación deportiva basada en valores. Seguimos ??https://t.co/SfaI3r94bb pic.twitter.com/wj5dF4pX9x

— Iker Casillas (@IkerCasillas) September 8, 2021

Casillas pointed out to the fact that his football career was brought to a premature end due to health reasons and that his training centres offered him a way to get back into the game. “I have always dreamt of giving back to this sport which has given me everything, and I have always wanted to open a training centre dedicated to goalkeeping. There are very few specialist training centres for goalkeepers in the world, and I am really pleased to launch this important project here in Dubai, a city where I have always felt welcomed. Our focus will be on creating goalkeepers, but more than that, I want this training centre to develop good human beings because that is the most important thing,” said Casillas.