Category: Sports

@mark248am as of 1st January the UFC has decided leave OSN and we are very disappointed at their decision.

— OSN (@osn) January 21, 2014

This absolutely sucks. I used to love recording live UFC event and then waking up early morning to watch them. It’s the only reason I still had my OSN subscription. Instead, OSN are now getting Bellator which no one wants to watch while the UFC has moved to Abu Dhabi Sports.

The friendly American Football game between the Kuwait Gridiron team and the Swiss Neuchatel Knights is taking place tonight (January 18th) at 6:30PM at the Kuwait University Stadium. Entrance is free and it’s not everyday an American Football match involving a Kuwaiti team takes place. So pass by if you can. [Link]

Since we’re on the subject on how much cooler Kuwait was back in the day, the video above is of an Offshore Powerboat Race that was held in Kuwait back in 1990, a few months before the Iraqi invasion. [YouTube]

In less than 3 weeks time, the Kuwait national American football team will be playing a friendly game against Switzerland. Not many people are aware of the fact that Kuwait has an American football team but we do, two teams in fact, the under 19s and over 19s (seniors).

I passed by one of their practice sessions last week and was pretty impressed with what I saw. The teams hold their practices at the Kuwait University Stadium in Shuwaikh and when I got there I got to watch different groups take part in various exercises. The teams practice Sunday to Wednesday from 7PM to 10PM and Saturdays from 1PM to 3PM so they’re very dedicated and really want to make this work.

Although the game this month against Switzerland is a friendly, it’s still an important game because the next one after that is in April against South Korea which will be for the World Cup Qualifications. So if you’re an American Football fan or if you’re looking for something to do, this January 18th pass by and cheer for the Kuwaiti team. For more details on the timing and location, check out this [Link]

A few years ago I posted about Abdullah Al-Moussawi (Sayed in Europe), an 11 year old Kuwaiti boy with incredible football skills. Someone had uploaded a video of him on YouTube playing football and the video ended up catching the eye of a football scout in Holland who later tried to get Sayed to move and train in Holland. Sayed became a sensation in Holland and was given the nickname “the Pearl of Arabia”. But, there was a bit of controversy and the move never happened. You could read my old post for the full story [Here]

I just wanted to post an update on Sayed. Even though he didn’t end up moving to Holland he was flying there every now and then to train with the top Dutch club SBV Excelsior. But last Wednesday, the director of TT (TrainingTrips.eu), an organization affiliated with professional players and football clubs (among them FC Feyenoord, Ajax, Manchester City, Liverpool, Club Brugge and FC Barcelona), welcomed Sayed into the organization and will now be taking care of his football career.

According to Jeroen Gösgens the director;

“Sayed has the potential to make it as a professional player. That’s why we’re convinced that it’s vital to make the next step right now. We work exclusive with top- talents and academies throughout Europe and it’s in our strong believe that any delay at this stage of the process won’t be in the best interest of Sayed’s development.

Since the first time that we saw him play 5 years ago, we’ve followed him carefully and now he’s ready to make the next step. Therefor his attendance at a pro-academy is an absolute requirement for his career.

We’re confident about Sayed’s motivation and capacity. Our expectations of Sayed are high. We only work with our own selected players and make no concessions whatsoever in this regard.

That Sayed comes from Kuwait is special in the way that we never had a player from the Gulf Region before. However, we want to convey him because of his exceptional- talent, determination and passion for the game. Considering that Sayed has reached his current level basically on his own strength with just help from his father, family and friends is already an amazing accomplishment by itself. We’re happy to welcome Sayed in our ‘family’ and will support him in every way to become what he really wants to achieve; being a valuable, creative player in a major league in Europe.”

It’s a pretty cool outcome and an incredible story considering all this started because of his low res YouTube video and with no support locally.

UCYCLE is a new small business that just launched two days ago. They’re a bike rental company and just started renting bicycles at the Mishref Mamsha (walk path). They offer three kinds of bicycles, normal bikes, glow in the dark neon Purefix bikes and two person tandem bikes. Here are their prices:

Normal Bicycles
1st hour: KD3.5
Every hour after KD2

Neon Bicycles
1st hour: KD5
Every hour after KD2.5

Tandem Bicycle
1st hour: KD10
Every 30min after: 5KD

They’re planning to change locations every week and you can stay up to date by following on the following social media channels:

Call/ Whatsapp: +965 98037123
Twitter: @UcycleKw
Instagram: @Ucyclekw
Email: [email protected]

If you’ve got a mountain bike then this is for you. This Saturday a casual mountain bike race is going to take place as Mutla Ridge. The invitation is open to everyone and it is not sponsored, there is no entry fee and there is no prize money to be won. The distance that will be covered is around 20KM and it will take about two hours to complete. According to the person organizing it, other than the tough, short 600m climb right at the beginning the rest of the route is fairly easy. Here are some details:

Date: Saturday, December 14th 2013
Time: Be there 7:30AM, race starts at 8AM
Location: Mutla Ridge [Map]
Distance: 20KM
Duration: Approx. 2 hours

For a lot more details including directions from Salmiya and Fahaheel as well as information on the route itself check out the following [Link]

See you guys there!

The large UAE based sports chain Sun & Sand Sports will be opening up in Kuwait soon. They have exclusive retail and distributorship rights across the region for over 50 sporting brands including Nike, Timberland, Columbia, Vans, Dunlop, Kettler, The North Face, Icon, Babolat and what I’m looking forward to the most… Under Armour. Their first store is going to be located in Salmiya behind Zahra Complex facing the Gulf Road.

There is going to be bungee jumping at Souq Sharq later this month. The jump height will be 100 meters which I understood is the highest it’s ever been done in Kuwait before and it will be held over the water. Here are the details:

Date: December 19th to December 21st, 2013
Time: 10AM to 10PM
Location: Souq Sharq Mall
Price: KD25

If you’re interested, the last day for booking is this Thursday December 12th. To book send a whatsapp to 94004335. For more details follow them on instagram @bungeekw

Although I personally prefer riding in the summer, now is actually the best time to ride a bicycle. Since not everyone owns a bicycle or wants to buy one I thought I would post about this instagram account that rents bicycles. They’re not cheap but I don’t think there is anyone else renting bicycles (that I know of). They charge KD5 for the first hour and then KD3 for every hour after. Delivery is included. The instagram account is @bike2u_kw and you can call them up or Whatsapp them on 94942122 to rent a bicycle.

While checking the Qout Market instagram account I found out that there is a local dealer for Pure Fix Cycles. I had seen the bicycles online before on a bunch of lifestyle websites, they’re very minimal in design and are great simple city bikes that look great. Right now they don’t have a physical store just an instagram account (@pfcycles_kw) and they only have three bike models with two models costing KD120 and the one pictured above with glow in the dark wheels for KD150.

If you’re interested they’re going to have a stand at Qout Market this coming Saturday where you will be able to check the bikes out in person.

Abdulaziz Al-Refai, Moayad Al-Suwaidan and Faisal Al-Obaid are three Kuwaitis living and studying in Boston. They’re also rowers and they’re hoping to make it into the upcoming Olympics. The video above is a brief interview with them along with some footage of them training. [YouTube]

Teams Association for Cricket in Kuwait (TACK) is holding a “Four Nations Tournament” this coming Friday over at the cricket grounds near Entertainment City. The four nations competing are Kuwait, India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka and the schedule is as follows:

Date: Friday, November 15th 2013

Match 1 – 7:00AM
Kuwait vs India

Match 2 – 10:30AM
Pakistan vs Sri Lanka

Match 3 – 2:00PM
3rd & 4th posiiton match

Match 4 – 6:00PM
Finals

Other than the thrilling T20 matches there will also be entertainment shows, food stalls, quizzes, traditional stalls, face painting and much more. It’s going to be a fun day outdoors basically. For more details including the map of the location check out the flyer [Here]

Red Bull just uploaded a video of their Car Park Drift event which took place in Kuwait last month. Two of the winners were eventually flown to Dubai to compete against other winners from the region. A drifter from Lebanon ended up winning the event a few days ago. [YouTube]

Since the weather has gotten really good DMboarding are now renting paddleboards for those interested in taking up the activity. The prices start at around KD29 for a week and includes free delivery. Not sure if they rent out for a day or weekend since their Instagram account shows only weekly and monthly rental prices. It’s more fun if you decide to rent them with friends since you could then go group paddleboarding which is a lot more fun than just you alone. For more details click [Here]