Kuwait handball team begins preparations for 10th Arab Cup
KUWAIT CITY, April 22: The Kuwait national handball team will begin its training at 6:00 pm at the Sheikh Saad Al-Abdullah Sports Complex in the Sabah Al-Salem suburb, as part of preparations for the 10th Arab Cup, which Kuwait will host from May 4 to 12, coinciding with International Handball Federation Week.
The team is now under the leadership of newly appointed Icelandic head coach Aron Kristjansson, supported by Danish assistant coach Ansen. Kristjansson has finalized a 24-player squad for the upcoming tournament.
Kuwait entered an internal training camp at the Radisson Blu Hotel, which will run through the duration of the tournament. The camp includes daily double training sessions—morning and evening—focusing on improving player fitness and refining both offensive and defensive tactics. Additionally, the program will include theoretical sessions to enhance players' tactical understanding.
As part of his preparation, Coach Kristjansson has attended several Premier League and First Division matches to evaluate player performance and finalize his squad selection.
The Arab Cup draw will take place on April 26, with nine teams set to participate: Kuwait (host), Morocco, Tunisia, Egypt, Iraq, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates.
The teams will be split into three groups, with matches played in a single round-robin format. The top two teams from each group will qualify for the quarterfinals.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Kuwait Times
4 days ago
- Kuwait Times
Liverpool face Bournemouth in Premier League opener, Man Utd host Arsenal
Guardiola's team will be desperate to get off to a winning start against Wolves LONDON: Liverpool will kick off their Premier League title defence at home to Bournemouth on Friday, August 15 while Arsenal head to Manchester United in a blockbuster clash on the opening weekend. Arne Slot's champions have the chance to secure the first points of the new season at Anfield as they launch the 2025/26 campaign, bidding for a record 21st English top-flight crown. Following the Bournemouth game Liverpool have tricky fixtures at Newcastle and at home to Mikel Arteta's Arsenal, runners-up for the past three seasons. Thomas Frank's first match as Tottenham boss will come on August 16 at home against newly promoted Burnley, while Sunderland make their return to the Premier League against West Ham. The third newcomers, Leeds, play Everton on Monday, August 18. Pep Guardiola's Manchester City, who ended last season empty-handed, will be desperate to get off to a winning start against Wolves at Molineux. Everton fans will have to wait until the second round of fixtures for their first league game at their new Hill Dickinson Stadium, when they will face Brighton. Liverpool dominated the Premier League last season, romping to a record-equalling 20th title with four games to spare in Slot's first season in charge. They have already strengthened their squad. Liverpool have agreed a club-record deal, reportedly worth up to £116 million ($156 million) to sign Florian Wirtz along with his Bayer Leverkusen teammate Jeremie Frimpong. A deal for Bournemouth left-back Milos Kerkez is understood to be well-advanced. Ruben Amorim's Manchester United, who will be desperate to hit the ground running after a terrible season, have been handed a tough test with a home game against Arsenal on August 17. United finished 15th in the league, their lowest position since they were relegated in the 1973/74 season, and lost in the Europa League final against Tottenham. Amorim has started a squad rebuild, bringing in Matheus Cunha from Wolves. The season consists of 380 games over 33 weekends and five midweek rounds. It concludes on May 24 with matches including Manchester City against Aston Villa. The Premier League said the start date 'allows for the maximum player rest time available - 83 clear days - from the end of the 2024/25 season'. The World Cup in Canada, Mexico and the United States begins on June 11, 2026. — AFP
Kuwait Times
5 days ago
- Kuwait Times
Empty seats as Chelsea win opener at Club World Cup
Dominant Flamengo open with victory at Club World Cup PHILADELPHIA: Chelsea began their Club World Cup campaign with a 2-0 victory against Los Angeles FC in a largely empty stadium on Monday as Brazilian giants Flamengo also got off to a winning start and a Benfica comeback denied Boca Juniors in a stormy encounter. As the inaugural 32-team tournament gradually kicks into gear in the United States, Chelsea followed fellow European heavyweights Paris Saint-Germain and Bayern Munich by claiming three points in their first group outing. Yet while UEFA Champions League winners PSG were ominous against Atletico Madrid on Sunday, and Bayern put 10 past Auckland City, the Premier League team were more solid than spectacular against LAFC in Atlanta. Pedro Neto and Enzo Fernandez got the goals for Enzo Maresca's side in the Group D match before nearly 50,000 empty seats at the Mercedes-Benz Stadium—not a great look for the tournament organizers. New signing Liam Delap made his debut as a substitute and helped set up Fernandez's strike, with Chelsea hoping to reestablish themselves among the elite after their recent UEFA Conference League triumph and Champions League qualification. Maresca said it was a 'very good result' and was happy with Delap's display following his recent arrival from Ipswich Town. 'The good thing about Liam is he knows the way we want to play, so the process is quite quick,' said the Italian. 'The environment was a bit strange, the stadium was almost empty, not full,' added Maresca when asked about the crowd, as just over 22,000 attended the 71,000-capacity venue for a game played at 3:00 pm local time on a Monday. LAFC were late qualifiers for the tournament, beating Club America in a play-off last month to replace banned Mexican side Club Leon. Chelsea went ahead just after the half-hour mark when Nicolas Jackson released Neto and the Portuguese winger turned inside LA defender Ryan Hollingshead before beating goalkeeper Hugo Lloris with a powerful strike. Former Chelsea striker Olivier Giroud came on at half time for the Americans and Steve Cherundolo's team improved in the second half. However, Delap entered the fray for Chelsea and made the killer second goal, crossing for the arriving Fernandez to control and finish. Dominant Flamengo Chelsea's next game will be against Flamengo, who began their campaign by easing to a 2-0 win against Esperance of Tunisia in Philadelphia. Uruguayan international Giorgian de Arrascaeta gave the Brazilian giants a 17th-minute lead from an assist by Luiz Araujo, who made it 2-0 with 20 minutes remaining. It was a dominant display from Flamengo, who fielded a strong side featuring several Brazil internationals and gave a debut to Italy midfielder Jorginho following his arrival from Arsenal. Jorginho will face former club Chelsea when the teams meet in their second match on Friday. Flamengo coach Filipe Luis is also an ex-player at Stamford Bridge. There were vast sections of empty seats at Lincoln Financial Field too, with just 25,797 fans in a stadium that can hold close to 70,000. 'Bitter taste' In contrast, there was close to a full house, and a raucous atmosphere, in Miami as Boca and Benfica played out an entertaining 2-2 draw in Group C. The majority of the crowd was backing Boca and the Argentines roared into a two-goal lead, Miguel Merentiel and Rodrigo Battaglia both scoring in the first half. Two-time European champions Benfica were given a lifeline in first-half stoppage time when Boca's Carlos Palacios mistimed a challenge on Nicolas Otamendi and after a VAR review—which included a red card for protesting from the already substituted Boca midfield Ander Herrera—a penalty was awarded. Veteran Angel di Maria converted from the spot to make it 2-1, but Benfica then had Andrea Belotti sent off in the 71st minute after a wild, high-footed kick into the head of Ayrton Costa. But with six minutes remaining the Portuguese side equalized as Otamendi headed in to make it 2-2. A disappointing result for Boca was compounded by a late red card for Nicolas Figal, who was dismissed for an ugly challenge on Florentino Luis. 'We're left with a bitter taste because we thought we could have won it,' said Boca's Battaglia. Tuesday's action begins with Borussia Dortmund taking on Fluminense of Brazil in New York in Group F, while Inter Milan face Monterrey of Mexico in Pasadena in Group E. – AFP
Kuwait Times
10-06-2025
- Kuwait Times
What we see in Gaza hurts my whole body, says Guardiola
MANCHESTER: Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola speaks at a ceremony where he received an honorary doctorate from the University of Manchester. - Manchester City's X account MANCHESTER: Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola received an honorary doctorate from the University of Manchester on Monday and used his acceptance speech to address the war in Gaza. The war erupted after Hamas-led militants took 251 hostages and killed 1,200 people, most of them civilians, in the October 7, 2023 attack. Israel's military campaign has since killed more than 54,000 Palestinians, most of them civilians, according to health authorities in Gaza. 'It's so painful what we see in Gaza. It hurts my whole body,' Guardiola said. 'It's not about ideology. It's not about whether I'm right, or you're wrong. It's just about the love of life, about the care of your neighbour. 'Maybe we think that we see the boys and girls of four years old being killed by the bomb or being killed at the hospital because it's not a hospital anymore. It's not our business. 'But be careful. The next four- or five-year-old kids will be ours. Sorry, but I see my kids, Maria, Marius and Valentina. When I see every morning since the nightmare started the infants in Gaza, and I'm so scared.' Guardiola was recognised for his contribution to the city, including guiding his team to six Premier League titles in nine years with the club, along with his charitable work through his Guardiola Sala Foundation. The 54-year-old Spaniard was presented with his honorary degree by the University's Chancellor Nazir Afzal at Whitworth Hall. – AFP
