"The Blue" Begins Preparations for "Gulf Cup 27"

The Kuwait national football team began preparations on Monday for the 27th Gulf Cup, scheduled to take place in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, from September 23 to October 6.

The team’s coach, Portuguese manager Helio Sousa, announced the “Blue” squad that will depart for the Qatari capital, Doha, on Wednesday, for a training camp in preparation for the tournament.

The selected players underwent medical examinations led by Dr. Abdulmajid Al-Banna. Rakan Al-Saeed and Abdullah Al-Qarzai were absent as they are with the youth national team, while goalkeeper Saud Al-Houshan was also unavailable. Kuwait SC players will not join the camp due to their commitment to face UAE’s Al-Ittihad Kalba in the country on September 16 to open the AFC Champions League Two campaign; they will rejoin their teammates immediately after the match.

It is unlikely that the “Blue” team will play friendly matches during the Doha camp, with the technical staff focusing solely on daily training. The team will participate in a single international trial against Yemen on September 18 in Jeddah, which they will depart for on September 15 as part of the final phase of preparations.

Kuwait competes in the Gulf Cup in Group 1, alongside host nation Saudi Arabia, whom they will face in the opening match on September 23 at the Jeddah Superdome within King Abdullah Sports City. They will subsequently play Iraq and Oman on September 26 and 29, respectively.

In a separate development, the Kuwait Football Association announced the roster of the Olympic team participating in the 20th Asian Games, to be held in Aichi-Nagoya, Japan, starting on September 19.

Football competitions at the Asian Games begin on September 19 and run until October 4. Kuwait has been drawn in Group 3 alongside Uzbekistan, Vietnam, and the Philippines.

The men’s tournament will feature 15 teams following Iraq’s withdrawal, with the top two teams from each group advancing to the quarter-finals.