Why Salisbury FC are ‘larger than many Premier League groups’ in Kuwait
As with each house sport, the Salisbury FC gamers and training workers went to embrace the followers within the Andrews Terrace at The Mac Stadium after Saturday’s 2-0 win in opposition to Folkestone Invicta.
Alongside the traditional applause and cheers, they had been greeted with a chant that is not a daily from the songbook.
“Kuwait away ole, ole,” sang followers of the National League South outfit.
The gamers clapped again with an additional buzz – inside 24 hours they might be travelling to the Middle East.
“Straight away all of us stated, ‘yeah, we’re all in,” explains Salisbury participant Luke Russe.
“It’s a singular alternative and as gamers, we’re so grateful to all people concerned in making this journey occur. I’ve been concerned on this degree for a very long time now and I’ve by no means had an expertise prefer it.”
The five-day journey includes the membership going through one in every of Kuwait’s most profitable groups on Wednesday, Al Qadsia, who’ve gained greater than 50 trophies, earlier than returning on Thursday to play Saturday’s FA Cup third qualifying spherical in opposition to Dulwich Hamlet.
It comes as a part of the membership’s continued hyperlink with Kuwait by means of their proprietor Ali Alhamad, who bought the membership in 2025.
The membership hopes the journey will provide vital industrial progress and, for the gamers, a chance to expertise soccer in a brand new surroundings and tradition.
The Mohammad Al-Hamad Stadium holds 22,000 spectators, greater than 5 occasions that of Salisbury’s The Mac.
“We’d like to win the sport,” says Russe. “But on the similar time I believe it is extra in regards to the expertise and in regards to the membership as an entire, going over there, dwelling that lifestyle and experiencing the sport.
“We’ve acquired a really younger group, so for them to expertise that and form of expertise cultures and variations is nice.
“It’ll be a implausible alternative for us gamers, for the workers, and I believe it’s going to carry the entire membership even nearer to what we at the moment are.”
