Al-Arabi and Qadsia target winning starts in the AFC Challenge League

Bader Mutawa

KUWAIT CITY, Oct 15: Kuwait’s Al-Arabi and Qadsia launch their AFC Challenge League campaigns on Saturday, with both sides aiming to make strong starts and secure progress to the knockout stage.

Al-Arabi faces Syria’s Homs Al-Fida at 2 pm at Hisor Central Stadium in Tajikistan in their Group B opener. At the same time, Qadsia hosts Bangladesh’s Fortis in the opening round of Group C.

The West Asia zone features three groups; the winners of each group and the best runner-up advance to the quarterfinals.

Al-Arabi’s group also includes Tajikistan's Istiklol and Lebanon’s Al-Najma, who are scheduled to meet on Saturday. The Green team will take on Istiklol next Tuesday before wrapping up their group campaign against Al-Najma on October 23.

Interim coach Mohamed Abdelnabi has named a 23-player squad for the tournament. Four players — Yousif Majed, Yousif Sabah, Abdulrahman Ajaj and Ayed Majed — joined the delegation on Wednesday.

Abdelnabi took charge after Croatian coach Goran Sablic was dismissed last Saturday following Al-Arabi’s disappointing start to the domestic season.

The Green team will be eager to start its continental campaign under its new leadership with a positive result and leave its domestic struggles behind.

Al-Arabi has managed just three points from four rounds of the Zain Premier League, drawing 1-1 with Kuwait Club, 3-3 with Sulaibikhat, and 1-1 with Kazma before losing 2-1 to Al-Jahra. It also failed to qualify for the AFC Champions League Two after losing 4-1 to India’s East Bengal in the playoff round in August.

Qadsia, meanwhile, will seek to make the most of home advantage and its supporters' backing as it targets a quarterfinal spot.

The Yellow team returns to the AFC Challenge League after two seasons in the Gulf Club Champions League. It finished runner-up in that competition two seasons ago and reached the semifinals in the latest edition.

Qadsia head into these tournaments on the back of an encouraging domestic run, having won three of its four league matches and lost only one. Its nine-point tally puts it second in the Zain Premier League, just one point behind leaders Kuwait Club.

Coach Mohamed Ibrahim, nicknamed “The General,” hopes to guide Qadsia back to continental glory. The club won the AFC Cup in 2014, and Ibrahim will look to build on the team’s promising league form while relying on the home crowd to inspire his players in their campaign.

By Hassan Mosa

Al-Seyassah/Arab Times Staff