Sheikh Fahad fights odds for a cause
Pioneer injects new blood in Kuwait sports
This is the fifth in a series of articles on Sheikh Fahad Al Ahmad Al Jaber Mubarak Al Sabah, a pioneer of the sports movement in Kuwait. While
developing local potentials Sheikh Fahad was striving to create strong abridgements with all important world sport organizations, lending support to those in need, and making Kuwaiti membership an effective element in strengthening those abridgements.
At the same time his tactful policy gained him a permanent membership at the World Olympic Board (WOB), hence the relations between the KOC. and the World Olympic organization, which in the past had only been marginal, grew in importance and prestige to the extent that the chairman of the world Olympic Board began meeting in Kuwait, which became the pivot of AsianAfro sport connections.
The prestige of the KOC was yet enhanced when Sheikh Fahad Al Ahmad became member of the World Olympic Board of Director, and began broadening the scope of the Olympic Organization by establishing connections with Asian and regional Olympic Boards.
For his outstanding role in this matter he was elected Deputy President of the World Olympic Boards Corporation during the conference held in Porto Rico in 1979.
Incidentally Kuwait was the first country in the region to make the Olympic Day the greatest perennial sport celebration, during which the most outstanding athletes of the year are awarded; other Gulf countries followed the example
It takes a man with a dream and the determination to make it feasible to create a change in the world!
– Editor
Perseverance
Sheikh Fahad’s dream was not only to see his beloved Kuwait taking part in the World Cup Final, he also wanted to give to the Arab world of sport the prestige it never had, and to forge through world sport tournaments the unity of nations which politics have been disrupting.
With characteristic perseverance, tact and self-confidence he accomplished in record time what no other country in the Arab world and Asian had ever attempted,
Under his shrewd leadership the Kuwaiti Olympic Committee successfully carried out connections with regional and world organizations through the Asian Olympic Bureau and the Afro-Asian Committee.
At the same time by engaging the best instructors for local players to achieve the higher standard of expertise it enabled them to successfully engage in world championships.
Incidentally the good work he did at the Qadisya club when he took over the administration, it brought its football team on to the threshold of championship with 32 victories to its credit.
After he was elected president of the Football Corporation in May 1974 he sought to use the Qadisya football team to spur other sport clubs in the country; for sport, like art, lives and thrive on enthusiasm!
To evoke a genuine enthusiastic response in the masses and in players alike many world championships were hosted, not only to familiarize people with sport events and spur the development of local potentials, but also to develop local technical and organizing skills by having Kuwaiti coaches working with foreign ones to gain experience.
Part of Sheikh Fahad’s innovatory plan was to form a strong basis by relying more heavily on new blood, a breed of new players who were to represent his country in world championships; thereby establishing a national team consisting of seasoned players and new ones whose loyalty and dedication to the sport was above personal gains.
At first the latter were incorporate in the national team to cover the absence of seasoned players, who fell to attend for one reason or another, One of those reasons was the strict, even harsh training they had to conform to that tested their commitment and stamina
Policy
From the start people who did not understand his farsighted policy in regard to young players, were criticizing him, making a big fuss, which he ignored, knowing he was doing the right thing. In 1978 the Twentieth Asian Youth Championship of Football was held in Bangladesh; that was the chance Sheikh Fahad Al Ahmad had been waiting to test the potentials of a selected team of young players in a world sport event.
Named - Shabab Al Watan (the Nation’s Youths) a team of 35 young players were chosen to take part in the tournament, Taken to Brazil for two months training under the famous Brazilian coach, Carlos Alberto, they engaged in matches with some of the strongest local teams to gain confidence and experience.
All through the training Sheikh Fahad was with them, lending moral support, training with them and nurturing them on the principles of true sportsmanship while instilling a feeling of responsibility in representing their country.
Leaving Kuwait airport heading Bangladesh to take part in its first world event the team was accompanied by Sheikh Fahad, the Brazilian trainer and scores of KOC officials and the media.
In the first tournament in which his team was playing against Democratic Yemen, Sheikh Fahad Al Ahmad was watching every move, hardly hiding his emotions, which grew stronger when the first goal was scored.
The match ended with equalizing points- 1-1, but that was enough to spur the confidence of his team in meeting the next challenge with a stronger determination to win,
Victory
Pinned against Singapore it engaged with such a zeal that it began scoring one goal after another, winning the match by five goals to one (5-1). Hugging his players with pride, Sheikh Fahad was cautioning them that it was only their first step on the long road to championship, so he advised them to remain alert and not to allow one victory make them lose their concentration, and reminding they were like soldiers fighting for their country.
As he was hoping the next contest with Bangladesh was another victory with two goals to zero (2-0).
When playing with Iran his team met with its first disappointment, for, soon after it scored a goal, it had to withdraw from the match for infringing some rules.
When pitted against Iraq, Kuwait lost by one extra goal scored during the over-time; the match ended with six goals for Iraq against five for the Kuwaiti,(6-5) – leaving the young players demoralized.
Feeling they needed some busting Sheikh Fahad cautioned them not to be sore losers, but to take the matter in good spirit, never lose heart, Reassured, the young players took to the next contest with South Korea with unmarred enthusiasm and the match ended with equalizing scoresone goal to one (1-1).
In the Asian Youth championship Kuwait emerged in third place; that in itself was a victory that proved the validity of his strategy; indeed the whole event spurred even the seasoned players to do their best.
Scheme
When Sheikh Fahad Al Ahmad sought to have seasoned players taking part in world-championship with younger ones, he met with a stiff opposition from those who didn’t see his far-sighted policy; nonetheless he implemented his scheme during the fifth Gulf championship tournament held at Baghdad,
In the second round of the championship when the Kuwait national team consisting almost exclusively of young players with only three or four seasoned ones, came in the second place, the local sport unions were furious, for they regarded the Gulf football championship an end in itself and the most prestigious event, hence they made a great fuss in the media emphasizing the championship would had been won if only seasoned players had taken part in the match.
Sheikh Fahad Al Ahmad was unperturbed. He regarded the result not a mean victory, for his ambition was to have the Kuwaiti team qualified for the World Cup finals and that could only be achieved in different steps.
Taking part in the Gulf Soccer Championship was only a means to an end, not an end in itself, knowing the potentials of his young athletes, he was carefully planning his move for the final score.