01/08/2026
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01/08/2026
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BELGRADE, Aug 1: The Kuwait Basketball Association (KBA) has unveiled a long-term talent development initiative by sending 10 promising young players to Serbia for a 30-day training program beginning on September 9.
The program, launched in partnership with a specialized basketball development company, is designed to expose Kuwait's rising talents to the European training system and provide them with high-level coaching and competitive experience. It marks the first phase of a broader project that aims to nurture a larger group of gifted players through a structured development pathway overseen by the KBA's Training and National Teams Committee.
Participants will follow an intensive schedule featuring morning and evening training sessions focused on improving their technical abilities, physical conditioning, and overall basketball fundamentals under the guidance of internationally accredited skills coaches.
The committee selected players born in 2011 and 2012 as the first intake, believing they are at the ideal stage of development to maximize the program's benefits. The squad, chosen by Kuwait national team head coach Marko Peslietić, includes Omar Al-Asaq, Suleiman Al-Mulla, Ali Al-Salahi, Khaled Al-Nashi, Abdulrahman Al-Marzouq, Fahad Al-Jumaa, Hamad Ahmed, Ibrahim Al-Hendal, Omar Al-Hathal and Saqr Abdullah. Team administrator Khaled Al-Matroud will accompany the delegation.
The initiative is intended to build a technically accomplished and physically prepared generation capable of representing Kuwait's senior national team and competing successfully at Gulf, Arab, and Asian levels.
Mohammad Al-Hassawi, Acting Assistant Secretary-General of the KBA and Chairman of the Training and National Teams Committee, said the Board of Directors approved the committee's proposal to establish the scholarship-based development program in cooperation with one of Serbia's leading basketball training companies.
He described the project as a strategic investment in the future of Kuwaiti basketball, stressing that it goes beyond a traditional overseas training camp.
"Our objective is not simply to organize a camp, but to produce more skilled and confident players," Al-Hassawi said. "Building successful national teams begins with developing and refining individual talent."
By Khaled Al-Enezi
Al-Seyassah/Arab Times Staff
