Marquinhos completes Al-Arabi's squad at the camp

With less than 10 days remaining before Al-Arabi’s AFC Champions League Two playoff clash against Indian hosts East Bengal, the club completed its squad by welcoming Ethiopian striker Kenyan Markini to their training camp, currently based in the Turkish city of Erzurum.

Markini’s arrival at the camp was delayed due to procedures for obtaining a visa to enter Turkey. The player, who joined the club this summer from Al-Shabab, is expected to undergo physical tests by the coaching staff to assess his fitness level. It is noted that the player had been training individually prior to his arrival in Turkey.

According to the Asian Football Confederation regulations, which link continental participation to the local regulations of the Kuwait Football Association, each club is allowed to compete in continental tournaments with the number of foreign players permitted to be registered on their local roster. Consequently, Al-Arabi must finalize a list of five foreign players and release one of their current foreign signings before facing East Bengal.

In the Turkish city of Izmit, Al-Salmiya suffered a 3-0 defeat against Egypt’s Zamalek in their first friendly match of the camp.

Bahraini coach Ali Ashour fielded two different lineups in each half to evaluate the performance of the professionals and new players, but the Egyptian side proved superior.

Earlier, the team had drawn 1-1 with Al-Zulfi in their first friendly match at the camp.

On another note, the club’s management approved the loan of young midfielder Mohammed Al-Omran to Al-Jahra until the end of next season.

Al-Omran becomes the fourth player loaned out this summer, following Mohammed Al-Sharifawi and Abdulaziz Abdeen (to Al-Tadamun) and Ahmed Al-Rashidi (to Al-Nasr). There remains one loan slot available for a player who will be among those present at the camp.

Meanwhile, in the Egyptian capital, Cairo, the Al-Shabab team began their preparations at a training camp launched there.