KUWAIT CITY, Oct 31: The Handball Federation has officially scheduled the “Refresher Tournament” as the inaugural event of the 2023-2024 sports season. The tournament is slated to run from December 1 to January 15.

The commencement of the new season has been delayed due to external commitments, starting with the Asian Games this month, followed by the recently concluded 2024 Paris Olympics qualifiers. Subsequently, we have the World Club Championship, known as the “Super Globe,” taking place on the 7th of this month, followed by the Asian Club Championship beginning on the 17th of the same month. December will see professional players representing their national teams, while January will host the Asian Championship, a qualifying event for the 2025 World Cup.

In other news, Osama Hosni, a professional player from the Arab Handball Club, has joined his national team’s preparations for the African Cup and is expected to return in the middle of this month. Meanwhile, the second “Green” professional, Osama Al-Jaziri, will participate with the Bahraini team in the Asian Club Championship, hosted in Kuwait.

Al-Arabi have acquired Kuwait national team player, Mohamed Ghazanfar, on loan from Burgan, while Al-Arabi’s goalkeeper, Salman Kamal, has been loaned to Burgan for the upcoming season.

The team have also secured loan agreements with Saud Al-Duwaihi and Ahmed Al-Farhan from Kuwait, as well as Muhammad Ali from Burgan. Contract renewals have been completed for “Green” stars Mahdi Khan, Abdullah Mustafa, Walid Al-Qallaf, and Salem Mahboub.

The latter underwent a knee cleaning operation and will return to training following the refresher tournament.

Additionally, it is anticipated that Al-Arabi’s player, Habib Boland, will complete a loan move to Sulaibikhat, with negotiations reaching their final stages.

By Khaled El Anzi
Al-Seayassah/Arab Times Staff