23/08/2026
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23/08/2026
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KUWAIT CITY, Aug 23: Al-Arabi could be without Nigerian forward Anayo Iwuala when they face Kuwait Club tomorrow in the opening round of the Zain Premier League.
Iwuala picked up an injury during Al-Arabi’s 4-1 AFC Champions League Two playoff defeat against East Bengal on August 12. The injury forced him to leave the match, and he has since missed the team’s recent training sessions while receiving treatment from the club’s medical staff.
Meanwhile, Al-Salmiya has secured the services of Syrian midfielder Mahmoud Al-Aswad for another two seasons. The player joined the club last season and produced convincing performances that earned him a contract extension.
Al-Salmiya now has five foreign players in its squad: Gabonese David Sambissa, Congolese Tresor Tshibwabwa, Uzbek Shahzod Azmiddinov, Bahraini Abdullah Yusuf, and Al-Aswad.
The “Samawi” will start their league campaign against Al-Nasr on Wednesday.
Elsewhere, Kazma is waiting for today’s Gulf Champions League draw, which will take place at the Gulf Football Federation headquarters in Doha.
The upcoming edition will feature a record 12 clubs, compared with eight in each of the previous two tournaments. The group stage is scheduled to begin on October 13 and will be played over home-and-away fixtures.
The participating clubs have been placed into four pots of three teams based on the AFC’s 2026-27 club rankings. Pot 1 includes Saudi Arabia’s Al-Ettifaq and Neom, and UAE side Al-Nasr. Pot 2 features Ajman of the UAE and Qatar’s Al-Duhail and Qatar SC.
Iraqi clubs Erbil and Al-Zawraa and Oman’s Al-Shabab are in Pot 3, while Pot 4 contains Bahrain’s Al-Riffa, Kuwait’s Kazma and Yemen’s Shaab Hadramout.
The draw will produce three groups of four teams, with clubs from the same country kept apart. The top two teams in each group will qualify for the quarterfinals, along with the two best third-placed sides.
The quarterfinals will be played over two legs.
By Hassan Mosa
Al-Seyassah/Arab Times Staff
