T-Mass and Al-Roumi advance – Casillas, El-Hadary face off

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KUWAIT CITY, June 20: The series of dream matches of the Late Abdullah Meshari Al-Rawdhan Futsal Tournament 2017 is coming to an end. In the fourth and last dream of the 38th edition of the tournament, two teams led by top class goalkeepers — Spain’s Iker Casillas and Egypt’s Essam El-Hadary — will face each other.

Participating in the entertainment dream match is the player of the Zamalek F.C. and the Egyptian national team Mahmoud Kahraba, along with Faisal Zayed from Jahra F.C. and several local and professional footballers in the tournament.

For the first time in this tournament, a fierce challenge will be witnessed between goalkeepers. All of those who have been invited in this tournament so far have been field players, the last of who were Ryan Giggs, Andrés Iniesta, Mohammad Aboutrika and Frédéric Kanouté.

This is the first time Casillas and El-Hadary are participating in the Late Abdullah Meshari Al-Rawdhan Futsal Tournament even though the two have known one another in the past. El-Hadary has good relations with many international and professional goalkeepers including Italy’s goalkeeper, Gianluigi Buffon.

Casillas had earlier posted a video on his personal account in the social media in which he accepted the invitation to the Late Abdullah Meshari Al-Rawdhan Futsal Tournament in order to interact with his fans in Kuwait.

He also expressed his delight in visiting Kuwait for the second time, as his previous visit was as part of the Real Madrid delegation.

Meanwhile, the 25th day of the tournament (today) will be the last day of the quarterfinals. The first match will be between the teams of T-Mass and the Late Ahmad Al-Roumi, while the second match will be between the teams of Dar Al-Mohammadia and BMW.

The T-Mass and the Late Ahmad Al-Roumi teams managed to advance in the tournament after defeating the teams of Fawaz Refrigeration and Kuwait Steel respectively through penalty shootouts on the 24th day of the tournament. The first match between T-Mass and the Fawaz Refrigeration teams ended in a score of 3-1, while the second match between the teams of the Late Ahmad Al-Roumi and Kuwait Steel resulted in a score of 5-4.

Meanwhile, Sheikh Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Nawaf praised the supreme organizing committee of the tournament, which is led by Abdullah Al-Rawdhan and the work committees, for their efforts in ensuring the 38th edition of the Late Abdullah Meshari Al-Rawdhan Futsal Tournament follows the success story of its previous editions, adding, “The story of success continues with each new edition of the tournament”.

He affirmed that his relation with tournament is attributed to his father — the honorary chairperson of the tournament and Hawally Governor ret. General Sheikh Ahmad Al-Nawaf — who used to take him to watch the tournament throughout his childhood.

Sheikh Al-Nawaf revealed that he participated in four editions of the tournament since the year 2000, which was before the tournament adopted the policy of involving professional players. He said he also participated in the tournament as an administrator but he is currently following it as a fan.

He affirmed that the involvement of professional players in the tournament has raised the technical level of the tournament. He stressed that it also has positive reflection on the local Futsal field, while the participation of international superstars brings in the element of joy and entertainment especially for the fans of the tournament.

This news has been read 7812 times!