Manama: Kuwait’s education ministry has launched a probe into the reasons for the extraordinarily heavy defeat of the national girls’ school football team despite spending more than $1.2 million on a training camp in the Czech Republic.
The investigation began after a 33-0 loss to the Jordanian team at the Arab School Games hosted by Kuwait until September 15.
“The ministry of education was deeply shocked by the magnitude of the defeat, especially since those responsible for the team have repeatedly assured the officials about the aptitudes and skills of the players,” a ministry spokesperson told local Arabic daily Al Rai. “The officials said that the Kuwaiti team was ready to take on the best participants and that it would easily win one of the medals thanks to its great potential.”
According to the spokesperson, the ministry officials said that they would pull out the team rather than face unacceptable defeats. However, they were persuaded by the team officials that they had highly competitive players.
“Encouraged by the assurances given by the team officials, the ministry allocated KD350,000 ($1,242,060) for a training camp in the Czech Republic. However, it seems that the camp was turned into a vacation, with the players training for only three hours a day while the rest of the time was spent on recreational activities,” the spokesperson said, quoted by the daily on Monday.
Nayef Al Hajraf, the education minister, has requested reports on the training camp and on the reasons for the shockingly low level of the girls’ team despite the facilities and funds provided by the ministry, the spokesperson said.
“The minister is also keen on knowing how the girls were selected for the team.”
