KUWAIT CITY, Aug 31: The Kuwait Club delegation has departed for Croatia to hold an external training camp that will run until the 13th of this month. This camp is part of the team's preparations for the 39th Arab Club Handball Championship for League and Cup Champions, which the "Kuwait will host from September 15-26. During the camp, the team will participate in several friendly matches to hone its skills. The delegation is led by Sameh Al-Hajri, Handball Director of Kuwait Club, and includes the technical and administrative staff, along with 20 players.
During the draw, the defending champion was placed in Group One alongside Al-Ahly of Qatar, Al-Karkh of Iraq, Al-Qoton of Yemen, Mudhar of Saudi Arabia, and Al-Salmiya of Kuwait. Group Two includes Al-Bank Al-Ahly of Egypt, Al-Gharafa of Qatar, Maliha of the UAE, Al-Qadisiya of Kuwait, and Al-Hashd of Iraq.
Meanwhile, the Al-Salmiya handball team has begun daily training at its camp in Doha. The delegation, headed by Tariq Al-Aidan, includes the technical staff led by coach Yaqoub Al-Moussawi and the administrative staff led by team manager Ali Al-Moussa, along with 18 players, including professional players Valentin Spohn from Germany and Mohamed Al-Soussi from Tunisia. The team is scheduled to play four matches in Doha: against Al-Sadd tomorrow, Al-Rayyan on the 6th, Al-Duhail on the 9th, and finally Al-Arabi on the 12th, before returning home on the 13th.
In another development, the junior handball team will depart for Amman, Jordan, today to participate in the 10th Asian Championship, which also serves as a qualifier for the 2025 World Cup. The team will compete in Group Four of the preliminary round alongside China, Iran, and Chinese Taipei, with its first match against Taipei scheduled for the day after tomorrow. The delegation is headed by the Vice President of the Federation, Shabib Al-Hajri, and includes the Director of National Teams, Faisal Saywan, as well as the technical staff led by coach Marko Martinovic and assistant coach Hussein Habib, along with the players.
The team has been preparing for the Asian Championship with an external camp in Slovenia, where it played seven matches. This was followed by two friendly matches against the South Korean team at the Martyr Fahad Al-Ahmad Center Hall, resulting in a 27-27 draw in the first match and a 21-28 loss in the second. On the sidelines of the match, the Korean ambassador was honored by the President of the Handball Federation, Fouad Al-Balushi, in the presence of Vice President Shabib Al-Hajri and members Mishaal Al-Qabandi, Abdullah Al-Dhiyab, and Khaled Abdul Quddous.
The top five teams from the tournament will qualify for the 2025 World Cup. Coach Martinovic emphasized that the national team has been in local training since the end of last year’s school exams, following a technical roadmap developed by the federation in collaboration with the administrative and technical teams. He noted that everyone is working hard to achieve positive results despite the challenges posed by the upcoming tournament, which is marked by the unpredictability of most participating teams.
By Khaled Al-Enezi
Al-Seyassah/Arab Times Staff
