TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 7, 2017
S P ORTS
Snapshots of
Kuwait’s football clubs
By Faten Omar
F
ifteen football clubs in Kuwait are members of the Kuwait
Football Association. The clubs are Al-Arabi, Al-Fahaheel,
Al-Jahra, Al-Kuwait, Al-Nasr, Al-Salmiya,
Al-Shabab, Al-Qadsiya, Al-Yarmouk, Kazma, Khaitan,
Al-Sulaibikhat, Sahel, Al-Tadhamon and Burgan. Kuwait Times
has compiled details about each of these clubs.
Qadsiya vs Fahaheel
QADSIYA
Qadsiya Sporting Club are one of the most popular clubs
in Kuwait. They were founded in 1953 and called AlJazira, before being renamed Qadsiya SC on Oct 20,
1960. Their chairman is Khaled Fahd Ahmad. Qadsiya
have two monikers - The Kings and The Yellow Castle.
They currently play in the VIVA Premier League and have
won the title 17 times, a league record.
Qadsiya play in the Mohammed Al-Hamad Stadium in
Hawally. They began playing in the 1961-62 season and
finished second three years in a row behind Al-Arabi.
This started a rivalry between the two teams, and the
annual league match between them came to be known
as the ‘Kuwaiti Clasico’. Their first league title came in
1968-69.
Since 2002, Al-Arabi have never won the league,
which allowed Qadsiya to dominate the football scene
by winning the league three times after Al-Arabi SC’s last
run. They then lost the title for three straight years to
Kuwait SC, before winning it again four times in a row,
making Qadsiya the second team in Kuwait to win the
league four straight times.
Qadsiya SC have been to the final of the AFC Cup
twice - in 2010 and 2013 - but lost both matches; first to
Al-Ittihad Aleppo of Syria in 2010 and Kuwait SC in 2013.
In the 2013-14 season, Qadsiya won their 16th title. In
2014, Qadsiya won the AFC Cup for the first time in their
third final appearance.
Al-Qadsiya’s players include Khalid Al-Ebrahim,
Abdulrahman Al-Enezi, Khaled Al-Qahtani, Amer AlFadhel, Dhari Said and Saud Al-Ansari as defenders;
Saleh Al-Sheikh, Talal Al-Amer, Mohammad Al-Fahd and
Mohammad Al-Fadhli as midfielders; Saud Al-Mejmed
and Bader Al-Mutawa (captain) as forwards and Nawaf
Al-Khaldi and Ahmed Al-Fahdli as goalkeepers.
AL-ARABI
Al-Arabi Sporting Club are based in Mansouriya at
Sabah Al-Salem Stadium, which is the second largest
stadium in Kuwait. They were called Al-Uruba in the
beginning of 1953, and changed their name to Al-Arabi
in 1960. The team plays in the VIVA Premier League.
As winners of the Kuwait Amir Cup in 2008, Al-Arabi
were the first Kuwaiti team to compete in the AFC Cup.
Arabi have 57 official trophies to their name in Kuwaiti
club football history (55 domestic and two GCC). Arabi
have not won a league title since the 2001-02 season.
They finished with the same points as Kuwait SC in the
2014-15 season, but the title went to Kuwait based on
the results of the matches between the two teams. Arabi
are the only team in Kuwait to have never lost in the
Kuwait Super Cup. Arabi hold records of playing in the
final of the Kuwait Crown Prince Cup four consecutive
times, tied with Kuwait SC, and in the Kuwait Amir Cup
final 11 consecutive times from 1962 to 1973, more than
any Kuwaiti team.
Al-Arabi’s nicknames are Al-Za’eem (The Boss), ElAkhdhar (The Green), the Green Castle and Castle of
Trophies. Their chairman is Jamal Al-Kazemi, and are
managed by Miodrag Jesic.
Hamad Askar and Jesic are the coaches of Al-Arabi.
Their players include Ahmed Al-Rashidi, Ahmed Saleh,
Ahmed Abdullah, Badr Al-Tahir, Issa Walid, Fahd AlFarhan, Meshaal Al-Anzi, Mohammad Freeh, Mohammad
Amin, Mubarak Al-Balushi, Nader Anzi and Obaid
Munawar as defenders; Abdulaziz Salimi, Abdullah AlShamali, Abdullah Haddad, Mohsen Turkmani, Jassim
Karam Ahmed, Ahmed Younis, Ali Maqseed, Badr Tariq,
Fahd Pasha, Gul Damaho, Khalaf Ahmed Khalaf,
KUWAIT SPORTING CLUB
lished in Kuwait.
The team’s players include Abdullah Rifai, Adel Raheli,
Ahmed Sabeeh, Fahd Al-Hajri, Fahd Awad, Fahad AlRashidi, Hamoud Fahd Mohammed Ansari, Hussein AlShammari, Mohammad Al-Farsi and Sami Al-Sane as
defenders; Abdulhadi Khamis Khudair, Abdullah Buraiki,
Ali Al-Kandari, Ibrahim Shihab, Fahd Saleh Al-Anzi,
Hussein Harb, Jarah Al-Ateeqi, Khalid Ajab, Mohamed
Camara, Nasser Al-Qahtani, Sherida Khalid Al-Sherida,
Waleed Ali Jumah and Yousef Khubaizi as midfielders;
Ahmed Mohammed Al-Sager, Ahmed Dahi, Ahmed AlShammari, Firas Al-Khatib, Jumaa’ Saeed and Talal AlMutairi as forwards and Abdulrahman Husainan and
Musab Al-Kandari as goalkeepers. Kuwait is coached by
Khaled Al-Shammari, and the head coach is Mohammed
Abdullah.
Kuwait SC are a Kuwaiti professional football club
founded in 1960. The team’s nicknames are White Pearl,
White Lion and the Brigadiers. They are managed by the
Frenchman Laurent Banide and Chairman Abdulaziz AlMarzouq.
Kuwait have won the Kuwaiti Premier League 11
times, with the most recent one in 2013. Kuwait SC have
37 trophies to their name in Kuwaiti club football history. Kuwait SC play in the Al-Kuwait Sports Club Stadium
in Kaifan. Kuwait are the first Kuwaiti club to ever win an
Asian title - the AFC Cup in 2009, 2012, 2013. They are
also one of the first sports clubs to have been estab-
Al-Salmiya SC are a Kuwaiti professional football club
based in Salmiya. They have won the Kuwaiti Premier
League four times, most recently in 2000. Salmiya were
founded in 1964 and the club’s logo is inspired by the
location of Salmiya on the map of Kuwait, with green
Mahmoud Mohammed Dashti, Mohamed Jarragh,
Mubarak Nassar, Omar Al-Sanea and Talal Mustafa as
midfielders; Ali Abdullah Shahman, Ali Ashkanani, Amin
Chermiti, Hussein Musawi, Marzouk Zaki, Mishari AlKandari and Mohammed Bo Abad as forwards and
Adnan Latif, Ahmed Dashti, Hamid Al-Qallaf,
Mohammed Ghanem, Saud Qinai and Sulaiman Abdul
Ghafoor as goalkeepers.
Arabi Sports Club vs Kuwait Sports Club
AL-SALMIYA SPORTING CLUB
representing the land, while the color blue represents
the sea. Their nicknames are Al-Samawi and Terrible
Troublers.
Salmiya have won nine official championships (four
Premier League titles in 1980-81, 1994-95, 1997-98,
1999-2000, two Kuwait Amir Cup titles in 1992-93 and
2000-01, two Kuwait Crown Cup titles in 2000-01 and
2015-16 and one Kuwaiti Division One title in 1971-72.
Salmiya’s Chairman is Turki Alyousef Al-Sabah and
their manager is Wolfgang Rolff. The team’s players
include Abdulaziz Al-Massad, Ahmed Abdul Ghafoor
Ashkanani, Fahd Abdulaziz Al-Mojamad, Fahd AlOtaibi, Nawaf Rashid Jawad, Saud Dmeed and Yousef
Dandan as defenders; Abdul Aziz Ghali, Abdulwahab
Al-Qattan, Abdulrahman Al-Riahi, Abdul Razak Al-Bati,
Adel Matar, Ahmed Jamil Al-Balushi, Ahmed Asfour,
Badr Al-Sammak, Ghazi Faisal Algahada, Hammad AlObaidly, Ibrahima Keita, Jarah Latif, Khaled Mjehm,
M ishal Hamid, M ohammed Obaid Al-A zmi,
Mohammed Jawad, Mubarak Al-Khadari, Nayef Zuwid,
Rashid Mohammed Al-Rashid, Sulaiman Abdul Redha,
Tarek Mohsen Al-Shammari, Turki Al-Mutairi and Igor
as midfielders; Badr Al-Jasser, Dhari Al-Harbi, Fahd
Ayed Al R ashidi, Faisal Al-Anzi, Faraj Al-Zoubi,
Mohammed Suwaidan, Uday Al-Saifi, and Omar AlMsobhi as forwards and Khaled Al-Rashidi and Nawaf
Al-Mansour as goalkeepers. Their coach is Mohammed
Dhelees.
Kuwait Sports Club and Salmiya Sports Club in action.