The story of the partnership between Iris Foot Care and Stefano Usai — and of a philosophy: seeking out the finest talents in sport to care, ever better, for our patients.
Key Takeaways
Stefano Usai — "The King" — is a futsal legend: 2 Champions Leagues, 11 national titles, 6 Italian Cups, 8 Italian Super Cups, a Ballon d'Or, and 75 caps for the Italian national team.
In February 2025, on the occasion of Qatar's National Sport Day, Usai flew to Doha and signed an official collaboration protocol with Iris Foot Care.
The visit included meeting young patients at our Doha clinic, a conference at Sport Accelerator in the Qatar Business District, and a reception at the Italian Embassy in Doha.
The King Academy, the international association Usai founded, uses sport to improve young people's lives — from support for orphans to inclusion programmes for children with disabilities.
The partnership reflects a broader philosophy at Iris: pairing world-class sport expertise with our hand-crafted insoles and podiatric care, for the benefit of every patient who walks through our doors.
From "the Romário of Pianezza" to "The King"
Twenty years ago, at the beginning of his futsal career, they called him the "Romário of Pianezza." Today, in the world of futsal, Stefano Usai is a legend — and that is no figure of speech. The Italian Football Sala Federation simply renamed him "The King," dedicated a documentary to him, "The King, The Legend," and at the Ticino Novara sports center there is even a mural bearing his face.
His honours read like a hall of fame: 2 Champions Leagues, 11 national titles, 6 Italian Cups, 8 Italian Super Cups, 1 Ballon d'Or, the runner-up title at the 2016 European Championship in Russia, and 75 caps with the Italian national team. The first Champions League in the history of futsal, in 2022, was handed to him by Prince Albert of Monaco.
But Usai is far more than a champion. He is a teacher of sport sciences at the Dalmasso Institute in Pianezza, head coach of the national team, author of the autobiography "Stefano Usai – An Italian Sporting Legend" (also translated into English) and, above all, a man who has made values the heart of his career. From the culture of training to respect for oneself and one's opponent, from setting objectives to building solid moral convictions — this is the backbone of his story.
The King Academy: Sport as a Tool for Growth
From this vision came The King Academy, the international association Usai founded to improve the quality of young people's lives through sport. Social projects for orphans and victims of war, futsal schools, inclusion of children with disabilities, programmes for Paralympic and elite athletes: a model that counters youth sedentariness with a winning mindset and a healthy way of life.
This is where our paths met.
The Invitation to Doha and the Signing of the Protocol
It all began with an invitation that came from us at Iris Foot Care — from our president, Nidaa Hamza, an established specialist in foot health and vice-president of the Institute of Podiatric Science, and from Mourad Lakhouadra, a specialist in sports podiatry and public relations in sport. An initial contact, helped along by the well-known Middle Eastern influencer Goratqatar, soon grew into something far more solid.
In February 2025, on the occasion of Qatar's National Sport Day, Stefano Usai flew to Doha and signed an official collaboration protocol with Iris Foot Care — documents, signatures and all. The following day, "The King" wanted to meet some of our young patients at the Doha clinic: a simple, genuine exchange between a champion and the children who entrust us with the health of their feet every day.
During those days Usai was hosted by organisations working in the social sphere — Dreama, which cares for orphans and children with disabilities, and Shafallah — and took part in a conference at Sport Accelerator, in the Qatar Business District. He was also received at the Italian Embassy in Doha, recognised as an ambassador of Italian sport in the world. "I found a place of peace and growth," he said after visiting Dreama. "A model to follow, an inspiration for everyone."
Why It Matters to Us: The Synergy Between Those Who Train and Those Who Heal
There is one idea that captures the meaning of this partnership perfectly: there is a synergy between those who manage athletes and those who help them recover from injury — or prevent it altogether.
That is exactly what we do. Iris Foot Care's insoles are crafted by hand, from the highest-quality materials, to correct the posture of marathon runners, footballers and triathletes — an archive of distinguished athletes who, from all over the world, have turned to us (during the 2022 World Cup, players from Brazil and Morocco among them). Figures like Stefano Usai bring to the field thirty years of sport practised and taught: training techniques, rehabilitation methods, motivational insight. We, from the ground up, take care of what allows those bodies to keep moving: the foot, posture, prevention.
Together, we close the circle.
We Seek Out Talent, to Raise an Entire Field
This collaboration says a great deal about who we are. As a company and as a clinic, we are constantly seeking out the finest talents in sport and health — people who bring experience, culture and expertise into our work. We do not do it for show, but for a very concrete reason: every additional insight we bring inside Iris Foot Care translates into a direct benefit for our clients and patients, from children to professional athletes.
Bringing "The King" to Doha means bringing a piece of Italian excellence, and building a bridge between Italy and Qatar made of skill, values and genuine care for the person.
"I believe sport serves this purpose too: to bring people together, and to show that, in the end, we all live under the same sky." — Stefano Usai
And we at Iris Foot Care are proud to walk — step by step — beneath that same sky.
