KUWAIT CITY, Oct 3: The Competitions Committee of the Handball Federation has released the schedule for the League "Merger" for the 2024-2025 sports season, which kicks off on the 9th of this month and concludes on March 28, 2025.

This season, 14 clubs are participating, with the absence of Al-Jahra and Al-Shabab. The league will begin with a preliminary round where all teams play against each other once in a single-division format. At the end of this "merger" phase, the top six teams will qualify for the Premier League and continue competing for the title. They will retain their points from the merger round as they enter the Premier League, which will be held in a "three-stage" format. The team with the highest points at the end of the competition will be crowned Premier League champion.

Teams ranked seventh to fourteenth after the merger will compete in the First Division League, which follows a "home and away" format. Like the Premier League, they will keep the points earned during the merger phase and play to determine their final rankings from seventh to fourteenth. According to the league rules, each club is allowed two professional players, and up to five youth players may participate with the senior teams.

The opening match of the merger league will be played between Fahaheel and Al-Sahel on the 9th of this month. Khaitan faces Al-Tadamon, and Al-Sulaibikhat takes on Al-Salmiya.

In other news, the Kuwait Club and Al-Salmiya have qualified for the semi-finals of the 56th edition of the Federation Cup, which was postponed from last season. Al-Salmiya defeated Al-Sulaibikhat 28-26, while Kuwait Club overcame Burgan 35-28 in the quarter-finals. This sets up a third meeting in 18 days between "Al-Ameed" and "Al-Raheeb."

The two teams previously clashed on September 18 in the first group of the 39th Arab Clubs Championship in Kuwait, where Kuwait Club won 31-29. They met again on September 26 in the Arab Championship final, with Kuwait Club securing the title after a 32-23 victory. Now, Al-Salmiya will face the "Sons of Kaifan" once more in the Federation Cup semi-finals.

By Khaled Al-Enezi

Al-Seyassah/Arab Times Staff