FIFA support has underpinned sustainable development and provided opportunities to play football and futsal across society in Kuwait where strategic planning married to FIFA funding has also ensured a bright future for the game. Following their appearance at the FIFA Arab Cup 2025™, the senior men’s national team will participate in next year’s AFC Asian Cup – their first outing on the continental stage since 2015. A first FIFA World Cup™ appearance since their global debut in 1982 will be the next goal when qualification for the 2030 tournament begins next year. Those strides at men’s elite level provide the headline to a multi-faceted story of the beautiful game’s growth in the Persian Gulf state that has been written with significant help from FIFA.

“FIFA's continued support has been instrumental in advancing football development in Kuwait and strengthening the foundations for sustainable growth across the game,” said Kuwait Football Association (KFA) President His Excellency Sheikh Ahmad Al-Yousef Al-Sabah. “Through initiatives and projects such as the Women’s Football Project, the Talent Development Scheme, the Talent Coach programme, and the forthcoming FIFA Kuwait Academy, FIFA has provided valuable expertise, resources and development opportunities that are making a meaningful difference to our football ecosystem.”

That is particularly true of women’s football and futsal development. In 2018, Kuwait was one of three countries chosen for the pilot phase of the game-changing Women’s Football Strategy and FIFA provided USD 507,434 of the USD 569,785 total cost of its implementation in the country.

It has contributed significantly to changing Kuwait’s sporting landscape, notably with the establishment of a first national women’s futsal league. That, in turn, has reshaped societal attitudes with the league’s final phase in 2022 gathering a crowd of 1,100 to mark the first time in Kuwaiti history that paying spectators attended a women’s sporting event. It was also televised domestically, another groundbreaking first.

That success has been reinforced by the FIFA Football for Schools initiative, launched in Kuwait in February 2024. It has provided even more girls with the opportunity to play sport as well as bringing female educators to the fore. As part of the KFA’s "Vision 2030", FIFA Football for Schools has also been woven into the FIFA Talent Development Scheme (TDS) and provides the first step as the KFA seeks to tease elite potential out of its pool of young male and female players.

Those who shine already have in place the support and expertise required to take their next steps on the pathway that could lead to the professional game as the KFA is one of 10 Asian FIFA Member Associations collaborating with a FIFA Talent Coach as part of the TDS. “We highly appreciate FIFA's commitment to supporting our Federation and investing in the development of our players, coaches and football structures. These programmes are helping us build a stronger and more sustainable pathway for talent development in Kuwait, while contributing to our long-term vision for the future of football,” added the KFA President. “On behalf of Kuwait Football Association, I would like to express our sincere gratitude to FIFA for its continued partnership and support. We look forward to further strengthening this cooperation and achieving even greater progress together in the years ahead."