Kuwait concludes its camp in London, ready to defend its title

Kuwait SC concluded its training camp in the British capital, London, yesterday evening, and is set to return to the country today in preparation for the start of the Zain League Premier Division on the 25th.

The “Whites” played five friendly matches during their three-week London camp, facing teams from various levels of the English leagues: Milton Keynes Dons, Portsmouth, Barnet, Brighton, and Peterborough United.

New manager Alexandre Santos insisted on using two different lineups in most of the friendly matches, aiming to assess the technical level and physical capabilities of all players, ensure their readiness, and select the best possible starting lineup to begin his tenure with the league champions. He faces two tough fixtures ahead, against Al-Arabi and Al-Qadsia in the first and second rounds of the league, respectively.

Meanwhile, Al-Salmiya drew 2-2 with Bahraini side Al-Khalidiya in its fourth friendly match during its training camp in Izmit, Turkey. This followed two other draws: a 2-2 tie with Algerian club Olympique de Chlef, and a 0-0 draw with Qatari side Al-Markhiya. The team lost its opening friendly match against Egyptian club Zamalek 0-3.

The “Sky Blues” are scheduled to return tomorrow evening, Monday, in preparation for their first league match against Al-Nasr.

Al-Salmiya will play one more friendly before the league begins, facing Al-Jahra on Thursday evening.

For his part, team manager Ali Nader confirmed that the Turkish camp was a resounding success. He told “Al-Anba”: “Thanks to the players’ commitment to giving their best in both morning and evening training sessions, as well as in the friendly matches, we have achieved the objectives we set out to accomplish during the camp, which lasted nearly two weeks. We hope this will positively reflect on the team’s performance in the opening rounds of the league.”