Al-Azraq heads to Doha, while Al-Olympic departs for Japan
The national senior football team’s delegation departs today for the Qatari capital, Doha, to hold an external training camp as part of the final phase of preparations for the 27th Gulf Cup (“Gulf 27”), hosted by Jeddah in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia from October 23 to November 6, with eight national teams participating. The Blue Team had held internal training sessions over the past two days at the Ali Sabah Al-Salem Stadium, home of Al-Nasr Club, following Portuguese manager Helio Sousa’s announcement of the 27-player squad for the tournament.
In Group A, the Blue Team will compete against Saudi Arabia, Iraq, and Oman, while Group B comprises the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Qatar, and Yemen. Eight players from Al-Kuwait Club—Khalid Al-Rashidi, Saud Al-Houshan, Mohsen Fallah, Reda Hani, Ahmed Al-Dhafiri, Abdullah Al-Qarzaei, Mohammed Daham, and Youssef Nasser—will miss the initial phase of the Doha camp to join Al-Ahly’s training ahead of their first-team fixture in the AFC Champions League Two. Al-Ahly will face the UAE’s Al-Ittihad Kalba on October 16 in the opening match of Group A. These players will subsequently rejoin the Blue Team’s camp in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, after the Qatari camp concludes. The delegation will depart for Jeddah on October 16.
The technical and administrative staff are also seeking to arrange a friendly match for the Blue Team during the training camp in Qatar, which will serve as their second preparatory game before the Gulf Cup. The team is expected to face Yemen on October 18 in Saudi Arabia in their final trial match.
Sousa and his coaching staff aim to maximize the benefits of the current training sessions and friendly matches before the Gulf Cup begins. In coordination with the fitness coach, the manager has designed a personalized program for each player to prevent fatigue-related injuries in the days leading up to the tournament.
The Gulf Cup also serves as early preparation for the 2027 Asian Cup in Saudi Arabia, scheduled for January next year. Given the significant improvement in the standard of Gulf national teams, the tournament will provide valuable competitive experience for the Blue Team.
Meanwhile, the national Olympic team’s delegation will also depart tonight for Tokyo, Japan, in preparation for the 2026 Asian Games (Ichinomiya-Nagoya). The team held training sessions over the past two days at the late Abdulrahman Al-Bakr Stadium, under the Kuwait Football Association, before heading to Japan for the official competitions.
Football matches at the Asian Games will take place from October 15 to November 4, with 15 teams participating following Iraq’s earlier withdrawal. The Kuwaiti Olympic team will compete in Group C alongside Vietnam, Uzbekistan, and the Philippines. Kuwait will kick off their campaign against Vietnam on October 15, followed by a match against Uzbekistan on October 18, and a game against the Philippines on October 22.
