Kuwaiti players pose for a group photo.

CAIRO, Aug 5: Kuwait’s under-19 national handball team begins its journey in the 11th IHF Men’s Youth World Championship today in Cairo, Egypt. The tournament runs until August 16, with Kuwait opening its campaign against Sweden at 12:45 pm in Group A. Portugal and Austria also compete in the same group.

Today’s schedule features 14 matches as part of the preliminary round, with 32 teams divided into eight groups:

Group A: Sweden, Kuwait, Portugal, Austria

Group B: Hungary, Switzerland, Morocco, Kosovo

Group C: Serbia, Spain, Croatia, Algeria

Group D: Iceland, Brazil, Kenya, Saudi Arabia

Group E: Germany, Slovenia, Uruguay, Faroe Islands

Group F: Norway, France, Argentina, Mexico

Group G: Egypt, Japan, South Korea, Bahrain

Group H: Denmark, Tunisia, Czech Republic, USA

This marks only the second edition of the championship featuring 32 teams, following the 2023 tournament in Croatia.

Despite facing a challenging group, Kuwait aims to start strong. The team prepared extensively with an overseas training camp in Croatia and Slovenia, where they played a series of friendly matches to elevate their performance ahead of the world stage.

Al-Qadsia announced the signing of Tunisian handball talents Rayan Zriat and Jihad Arar to bolster their roster for the upcoming season starting in September.

These acquisitions reflect the club’s determination to compete for all major titles in the forthcoming campaign.

Zriat arrives after three successful seasons with Shabab Al Ahli in the UAE and is regarded as one of Tunisia’s top players. Arar, familiar with Al-Qadsia after a previous short stint following his move from Qatar’s Al-Ahli last season, has also played for Qatar’s Al-Rayyan and Tunisia’s Espérance.

Additionally, Al-Qadsia secured goalkeeper Ahmed Al-Farhan on a free transfer. Al-Farhan is recognized as one of the best goalkeepers in Kuwait and has represented several local clubs. Earlier this season, the club also added star player Nawaf Al-Shammari from Kuwait Club.

By Khaled Al-Enezi

Al-Seyassah/Arab Times Staff