Blue Stars launch training camp with 28 players
Kuwait national team continues training under Helio Sousa in preparation for the 2027 Asian Cup
Translated by Qiyas from الجريدة — Original source
The Kuwaiti senior national football team continued its training today at the Sulaibikhat Stadium in preparation for matches against Syria and Honduras, scheduled for the 13th and 17th of this month, during the current international break.
These matches are part of the preparations for the 2027 Asian Cup, despite its one-year postponement. The technical staff of the Blue Team, led by Portuguese coach Helio Sousa, has finalized a one-year preparation program, which includes domestic and foreign training camps interspersed with friendly matches against Arab, Asian, and African national teams during the international breaks next year, leading up to the tournament.
Sousa has selected 30 players for the training camp, which began yesterday, as well as for the matches against Syria and Honduras. The players are: Khaled Al-Rashidi, Dhafer Al-Otaibi, Abdulrahman Al-Fadli, Fahad Al-Hajri, Khaled Subaih, Wahab Al-Awadi, Rashid Al-Dosari, Abdulaziz Naji, Walid Saad, Muath Al-Dhafiri, Saleh Al-Mutairi, Hamad Al-Sanousi, Abdullah Al-Saedi, Abdullah Al-Qarazi, Nasser Falah, Ahmed Al-Dhafiri, Mohammed Al-Huwaidi, Jasem Al-Mutairi, Mehdi Dashti, Muath Al-Asmakh, Bandar Al-Salman, Mubarak Al-Finawi, Eid Al-Rashidi, Shuaib Al-Khalidi, Yousif Nasser, Abdullah Al-Awadi, Abdulrahman Al-Rashidi, Mohammed Daham, and Yousif Majed.
The most notable absentees from the list are goalkeeper Saud Al-Houshan and Mohammed Daham, due to injuries sustained with their club, Kuwait SC, which require a ten-day treatment program.
Mohammed Al-Bunyan, the General Supervisor of the Kuwaiti senior national football team, confirmed that he accepted the position following a call from Kuwait Football Association President Sheikh Ahmed Al-Yousef, after Al-Yousef had previously declined the offer on several occasions due to special circumstances.
Al-Bunyan stated that his current appearance with the Blue Team is his first since assuming the role. He noted that he did not impose any conditions for accepting the position but requested the necessary authority to perform his duties effectively.
He said, “Working with the Blue Team is a great honor. I did not come to diminish the role of any official within the national team setup; rather, I requested a technical voice, given my awareness of public sports opinion and my close monitoring of developments surrounding the national team.”
He added that the national team coach, Portuguese manager Helio Sousa, will design the preparation program up to the World Cup qualifiers scheduled for August next year. The program includes two training camps, the first in March and the second in June. Al-Bunyan clarified that the Kuwait Football Association is awaiting the submission of the program within the coming week.
