A Step in the Right Direction

There is no doubt that focusing on youth development is the true path to building the future of Kuwaiti sports. In this context, the project of recruiting international coaches to work with under-12 players in football clubs represents a step in the right direction and an initiative worthy of appreciation and praise. What makes the project even more commendable is that it is based on a fundamental premise that no one disputes: proper player foundation at an early age is the true investment in the future of football.

The General Authority for Sports, in collaboration with the Kuwait Football Association, did well by prioritizing this file and recruiting coaches from diverse football schools according to specific technical criteria, with the aim of building a higher-quality and better-qualified player base. This attention deserves recognition from the state, as sports are no longer a luxury or a side activity, but have become a complete industry with its own economy, investments, and human resources, requiring management, planning, and a clear vision.

Here arises the most important question: What comes after the under-12 category? If we recruit an international coach for players at this stage and provide them with proper technical and physical foundations, what will happen when the player moves to the under-14, then under-16, and then under-18 categories? Will they encounter the same technical system? Will the coach at each stage be qualified and capable of building upon what was achieved in the previous stage? If the under-12 coach possesses the required experience and certifications, but the player subsequently moves to another stage under the supervision of a local coach who lacks the necessary qualifications and expertise, what have we gained? Such coaches often secure their positions due to nepotism (being the son of the club president) or by holding more than 100 votes in the club’s general assembly.

The picture becomes clear here: the problem is not with a single project or the number of coaches recruited, but with our need to change the entire system. We require a clear strategy for Kuwaiti football that begins with a transparent assessment of our current reality, defining the gap between the level Kuwaiti football has reached today and the level we aim to achieve in five years. From this gap, general goals and objectives should emerge, followed by specific objectives, and then programs, projects, and initiatives that all work in one direction, according to clear priorities, timelines, and measurable performance indicators.

We need to know what we expect from our players at each age group, and what technical and physical specifications a player must achieve when transitioning from one stage to another. We also need to know who is eligible to coach each age group, what criteria are used for their selection, and how they are evaluated, held accountable, and developed. The international coach we recruit today should not merely be a coach who performs his duties and ends his role when the contract expires; he must be part of a project to transfer expertise and build national coaches through programs for observation, qualification, and development.

Furthermore, the success of any technical project within clubs requires an administrative environment capable of protecting and leveraging it, which brings us to the file of governance. It is impossible to demand professional outputs from a system that still needs to develop mechanisms for management, decision-making, selection of technical staff, performance measurement, and accountability. We need technical decisions to be based on clear criteria and for there to be continuity in work, so that the system does not start from scratch every time personnel change.

We also need to transition from partial professionalism to full professionalism; professionalism that is not limited to player and coach contracts, but encompasses management, planning, talent scouting, coach preparation, facilities, measurement, and evaluation. If the state has taken a step in the right direction today, other steps must follow as part of a comprehensive strategic plan for Kuwaiti sports, specifically football, so that initiatives do not remain isolated, but transform into an integrated system with its own goals, responsibilities, and success indicators.

In five years, we must be able to measure achievements with numbers: How many players were developed? How many national coaches were qualified? How many talents were discovered? And what is the extent of the development in technical and physical levels? Yes, this initiative deserves appreciation, but its true success will not be measured by the number of coaches recruited, but by the sustainable impact it leaves on Kuwaiti football. The goal is not to create a good team in a single age group, but to build a system that produces a Kuwaiti player capable of competing, a qualified national coach, a professional sports administration, and a better future for Kuwaiti football. This is the true investment in sports.