KUWAIT CITY, Jan 9: The draw for the upcoming sports season 2023-2024 General Handball League Championship took place at the Federation headquarters in Daiya. The event was attended by Secretary Qaid Al-Adwani and representatives from 10 clubs out of the 14 participating in the league this season. Notably, Al-Jahra and Al-Shabab will be absent, prompting the Federation to implement a modified league system for this season.

Scheduled to commence on February 6th, the tournament will feature two sections. The first section adopts a "one-round league" merger system among the 14 clubs. Following this stage, the top 6 clubs, determined by points from the initial section, will advance to the Premier League. The Premier League will then be played in two sections, "home and away." The team securing the highest points in the first round will clinch the league title. Simultaneously, the remaining 8 teams in the first division will engage in a single round to establish rankings from seventh to fourteenth.

Participating clubs in the league include Al-Kuwait, Kazma, Al-Salmiya, Al-Qadisiya, Al-Arabi, Fahaheel, Burgan, Al-Qurain, Yarmouk, Sulaibikhat, Khaitan, Al-Tadamon, Al-Nasr, and Al-Sahel.

The draw revealed compelling match-ups in the first round of the Hand Combined League, such as Kuwait versus Al-Arabi, Kazma against Al-Qadisiya, Al-Nasr versus Sulaibikhat, Al-Salmiya facing Yarmouk, Burgan challenging Al-Qurain, Khaitan meeting Al-Sahel, and Al-Tadamon taking on Al-Fahaheel.

The handball season will kick off with the "Super" tournament on February 3rd and 4th, featuring a knockout system based on the results and standings from the previous season's tournaments. Four teams—Kuwait, the league and Federation Cup champion, Al-Qadisiya, the runner-up, Burgan, the Federation Cup runner-up, and Kazma, the third-place finisher in the cup—will participate in the tournament.

Khaled El Anzi

Al-Seyassah/Arab Times Staff