Players in action during the Arab Clubs Championship match between Kuwait Club and Al Salmiya in Kuwait.

KUWAIT CITY, Sept 19: The Arab Handball Clubs Championship, hosted by Kuwait Club at the Sheikh Saad Al-Abdullah Complex Hall until September 26, features an exciting Kuwaiti-Iraqi clash today in the fourth round of the preliminary stage. Al-Qadsiya faces Al-Hashd at 6:00 pm in the second group, followed by Kuwait Club taking on Al-Karkh in the first group. Al-Qoton from Yemen will compete against Al-Ahly from Qatar, and Maliha from the UAE will battle Al-Bank Al-Ahly from Egypt at 2:00 pm.

The preliminary round will wrap up on Saturday, with four more matches: Al-Gharafa of Qatar will go up against Al-Hashid, Al-Salmiya will play Al-Karkh, Al-Qadsiya will face Maliha, and Kuwait Club will meet Al-Ahly of Qatar. On Sunday, the match for ninth and tenth places will be held between the fifth teams from both groups. Quarter-final matches are scheduled for Monday, followed by the semi-finals on Tuesday, with the championship concluding on Thursday.

In the third round of the preliminary stage, Al-Karkh defeated Al-Qoton 46-25, Al-Gharafa of Qatar overcame Maliha 30-22, Al-Qadsiya edged out Al-Ahli Bank 26-24, and Kuwait Club narrowly beat Al-Salmiya 31-29.

The standings are as follows: In Group A, the defending champion and host, Kuwait Club, leads with four points, followed by Al-Salmiya with the same points. Al-Karkh holds three points, Al-Ahly has one point, and Al-Qoton remains without a point.

In Group B, Al-Gharafa leads with four points, equal to Al-Hashd but ahead on goal difference. Al-Qadsiya and Al-Ahli Bank each have two points, while Maliha is yet to score.

The top four teams from each group will advance to the quarter-finals on Monday, with the matchups determined as follows: the first team from Group A will face the fourth team from Group B, the second team from Group B will compete against the third team from Group A, the second team from Group A will go up against the third team from Group B, and the first team from Group B will play against the fourth team from Group A.

By Khaled Al-Enezi

Al-Seyassah/Arab Times Staff