The session “Sports in the Emirates and Kuwait…One Spirit” highlights the depth of the sporting and historical ties between the two brotherly countries

The session “Sports in the Emirates and Kuwait… One Spirit”, during the “Emirati-Kuwait Media Forum”, which was held today at the Museum of the Future in Dubai, as part of the activities of the “Emirates and Kuwait… Brothers Forever” week, reviewed the most prominent stages of sports cooperation between the two countries, and the impact of the Gulf Championships and joint camps on enhancing rapprochement between them. It also highlighted historical milestones that brought together the teams of the two countries and the role of sports as a bridge of communication between the two peoples.
The session, in which the former cultural attaché of the State of Kuwait, Muzaffar Al-Hajj, and the acting director of the Public Authority for Sports in Kuwait, Bashar Abdullah, participated, and was moderated by researcher and media sports historian Muhammad Al-Joker, highlighted the depth of the sporting and historical ties between the two brotherly countries.
Muzaffar Al-Hajj said: “My experience in Kuwait began as a student at the College of Commerce and Political Science, where I registered for the sports activity of football, and was later selected to play for the Kuwait University team, and I am proud that I played alongside a group of Kuwaiti football giants.”
Al-Hajj added: “I was fortunate in two events that I will not forget: the first was my selection as an exemplary student in the last year of study based on academic and athletic excellence, and the second was my selection to head the Kuwait University team as a student, which is a great pride for me as a non-Kuwaiti who enjoys this trust.”
Regarding his role in establishing the first fan association of Emirati male and female students in Kuwait during the third Gulf Cup in 1974, Al-Hajj said: “It was not just an association, but rather it was a need because of our presence in Kuwait to support our team.”
For his part, Bashar Abdullah said: “The UAE and Kuwait are brothers forever… and the closest to our hearts,” adding: “The Gulf Cup Championship is the opportunity that brings us together as Gulf people, players, administrators, media professionals, and everyone related to Gulf sports, and all my relationships with Emirati athletes began and continued through the Gulf Cup.”
Regarding the current reality of football in Kuwait, Bashar Abdullah said: Administrative conditions have affected the sport of football in the last ten years, but Kuwait’s successes in other sports continue, examples of which include handball, archery, equestrian, fencing and gymnastics, pointing to the change in the sports system in the world, especially in football, where reliance has become on the team as a group more than the individual, and the levels of Asian teams and teams have developed greatly, which has made competition difficult.
In turn, Mohammed Al-Joker pointed out that the history of sports between the two countries began in the 1950s with the people of the Emirates going to Kuwait and practicing sports there.
Al-Joker added: “In 1969, the first Arab championship was held in Kuwait, and Dubai participated in it with a table tennis team and won a bronze medal. The most important stage was in the seventies, when Kuwaiti clubs such as (Al-Qadisiyah) and (Kuwait) began their visits to the Emirates.”