Burgan players harass an opponent for the ball.

KUWAIT CITY, Aug 23: Burgan will play its third warm-up match against Bosnian side Maglaj, runners-up in the domestic league last season.

Burgan is gearing up for both the Kuwait Premier League and, for the first time in its history, the Asian Club Championship after finishing second in the league last season. The camp, which concludes on August 26, is led by Kuwaiti coach Hussein Habib. The squad includes foreign professionals—Japanese player Kosuke Yasuhira, Croatian Stipe Mandalinic, and Serbian Jovica Nikolic—alongside local reinforcements such as Nasser Al-Faraj, Abdulaziz Al-Dosari, Mubarak Al-Randi, Hamad Al-Saqer, Ahmed Al-Qallaf, and Hussein Al-Mutawa.

Arabi’s handball team, also under the guidance of Hussein Habib, is preparing for the Premier League as well. Its camp, which runs until August 30, features professional signings Tunisian Oussama Jaziri and Estonian Dener Jaanimaa.

Meanwhile, Kuwait Club and Sulaibikhat are holding training camps in Bosnia as well. Sulaibikhat team manager Hussein Siwan confirmed that the camp is progressing according to plan, noting the strong commitment from the players. Both clubs are preparing for the Arab Championship, which Kuwait Club will host from September 12 to 22. Kazma will also take part in the tournament and is currently training in Izmit, Turkey.

Separately, Kuwait’s under-17 handball team departs today for a training camp in Slovenia and Croatia as it prepares for the Asian Championship, set to begin on September 16 in Jordan. The competition also serves as a qualifier for next year’s World Championship in Morocco.

The junior side will play two friendlies against Slovenia before moving to Croatia for a four-team mini-tournament. The team returns to Kuwait on September 9 and will depart again for Jordan on September 14. Kuwait has been drawn in Group A alongside Bahrain and Hong Kong.

By Khaled Al-Enezi

Al-Seyassah/Arab Times Staff