2025–26 Al-Arabi SC season

Al-Arabi
2025–26 season
PresidentAbdulaziz Ashour
Head coachNasser Al-Shatti
StadiumSabah Al Salem Stadium
Sulaibikhat Stadium (selected matches)
Premier LeagueTBD
Kuwait Emir CupTBD
AFC Challenge LeagueGroup Stage
Kuwait Super CupSemi-final
Kuwait Crown Prince CupTBD
Kuwait Emir Cup 24-25Finalist

The 2025–26 season is Al-Arabi's 64th consecutive season in the top flight of Kuwait football. The club participates in the Premier League, the Kuwait Emir Cup, the AFC Challenge League, the Super Cup and Kuwait Crown Prince Cup.

The season covers the period from 1 July 2025 to 30 June 2026.

Overview

The club signed with Portuguese manager Marco Alves after the departure of Nasser Al-Shatti, and alongside Ahmed Hayel former club striker as assistant coach. With the club Summer camp being in United Arab Emirates where the club played 6 Friendlies ahead of the season.

The club was initiated new contract extensions to multiple domestic players in pre season after the Hassan Al-Enezi incident with Jordanian club Al-Ahli.

Marco Alves and his crew were sacked after the first league loss to Al-Nasr, and resigned with Nasser Al-Shatti days later.

Players

First-team squad

As of 31 January 2025

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
3 DF  KUW Abdullah Ammar
4 DF  KUW Mohammed Khaled
5 DF  SYR Jumma Abboud
7 MF  KUW Bader Al-Fadhel
8 MF  KUW Hussain Ashkanani
9 ST  KUW Salman Al-Awadhi
10 MF  KUW Bandar Al Salamah
11 FW  NGA Christopher John
12 MF  KUW Bader Al-Mutairi
14 MF  KUW Khaled Al-Mershed
15 DF  KUW Hamad Al-Qallaf
16 DF  KUW Ali Abdul Rasul
17 MF  KUW Ali Khalaf
19 FW  KUW Abdulrahman Karam
No. Pos. Nation Player
20 MF  KUW Nayef Al-Shemmari
21 MF  IRN Ali Porusaniei
22 GK  KUW Sulaiman Abdulghafour
25 DF  KUW Abdulwahab Al-Awadi
26 GK  KUW Ahmed Dashti
29 DF  KUW Jassem Shammouh
30 MF  KUW Yousef Majed
32 MF  KUW Ahmed Awadh
42 DF  KUW Abdullah Essa
77 FW  NGA Anayo Iwuala
99 FW  KUW Hussain Al-Aryan

Out on loan

Technical staff

Position Name
Manager Marco Alves
Assistant Manager Ahmed Hayel
Assistant Manager Blessing Lumueno
Analyist Mahfoud Janad
Physiotherapist Khalil AlJabable

Transfers and loans

Transfers in

Entry date Position No. Player From club Fee Ref.
12 July 2025 DF 12 Hamad Al-Harbi Kazma Free [1]
15 July 2025 MF 18 Hassimi Fadiga Levski Sofia Free [2]
15 July 2025 DF 28 Kenneth Semakula Club Africain Free [3]
21 July 2025 DF 2 Abdulaziz Nasari Qadsia Free [4]
29 July 2025 FW 20 Julien Ngoy Mechelen Free [5]
28 August 2025 DF 28 Nabil Marmouk Wydad AC Free [6]
12 September 2025 FW 90 Omar Al-Azmi Free [7]
20 September 2025 FW 9 Zaid Qunbar Al Ahly Free [8]
11 January 2026 MF 19 Kamil Al-Aswad Al-Khaldiya undisclosed [9]
11 January 2026 DF 29 Reynaldo Remo undisclosed [10]
Expenditure: $0

Loans in

Transfers out

Exit date Position No. Player To club Fee Ref.
16 June 2025 MF 98 Kamil Al-Aswad Al-Khaldiya End of loan [11]
16 June 2025 FW 23 Hamza Khabba AS FAR Free [12]
16 June 2025 DF 13 Sofiane Bouchar Qadsia Free [13]
20 June 2025 MF 78 Dhahi Al-Shammari Al-Shabab Free [14][15]
29 June 2025 MF 6 Sultan Al Enezi Kazma Free [16]
18 July 2025 DF 2 Hassan Al-Enezi Al Ahli $117,800 [17]
24 August 2025 DF 28 Kenneth Semakula Al-Adalah Free [18]

Total income: $117,800

Loans out

Start date End date Position No. Player To club Fee Ref.
8 August 2024 31 July 2026 GK 99 Hussain Kankouni Kazma None [19]
13 July 2025 31 July 2026 FW 91 Magdad Saffar Burgan None
25 July 2025 31 July 2026 GK 31 Abdulredha Shehab Burgan None

Pre-season and friendlies

  Win   Draw   Loss   Fixtures

31 July 2025 Friendly Al-Arabi 1–2 Hatta Dubai, United Arab Emirates
18:30 AST Iwuala 68' igbokwe 38' 43' Stadium: Rashid Stadium
Referee: Hamad Ali Yousef Abdulla
6 August 2025 2025 BIT Al-Arabi 0–1 Baniyas Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
18:30 AST Stadium: Baniyas Stadium
Referee: Mohammed Abdulla Hassan
8 August 2025 2025 BIT Al-Arabi 0–2 Al-Wahda Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
18:30 AST Rivera 36' 85' Stadium: Al-Nahyan Stadium
Referee: Mohammed Abdulla Hassan
21 August 2025 Friendly Al-Arabi 2-1 Dubai City Dubai, United Arab Emirates
18:30 AST Mohammed Khaled 19'
Bader Al-Fadhel 57'
Stadium: Umm al Quwain Stadium
Referee: Mohammed Abdulla Hassan
24 August 2025 Friendly Al-Arabi 1–1 Al-Arabi Dubai, United Arab Emirates
18:30 AST 17' Bader Al-Fadhel Stadium: Umm al Quwain Stadium
Referee: Mohammed Abdulla Hassan
28 August 2025 Friendly Al-Arabi 2–2 Shabab Al-Ahli Dubai, United Arab Emirates
18:30 AST Iwuala 55' 80' Stadium: Rashid Stadium
Referee: Hamad Ali Yousef Abdulla
4 September 2025 Friendly Al-Arabi 1-0 Al-Jahra Mansuriyah, Kuwait City
AST 20:40 John 90' Stadium: Sabah Al Salem Stadium
7 September 2025 Friendly Al-Arabi 2-1 Al-Tadamon Mansuriyah, Kuwait City
AST 20:40 Ngoy 10'
John 32'
Stadium: Sabah Al Salem Stadium
8 October 2025 Friendly Al-Arabi 1-1 Burgan Mansuriyah, Kuwait City
AST 20:40 Ngoy 25' Stadium: Sabah Al Salem Stadium
12 October 2025 Friendly Al-Arabi 3-1 Al-Yarmouk Mansuriyah, Kuwait City
AST 20:40 Ngoy 4'
Yousef Majed 34' 66'
Stadium: Sabah Al Salem Stadium
27 November 2025 Friendly Al-Arabi 4-0 Khaitan Mansuriyah, Kuwait City
AST 20:40 Fadiga 4'
Ngoy 7'
John 32' Zain Al-Abdien Ma’rafi 74'
Stadium: Sabah Al Salem Stadium
4 December 2025 Friendly Al-Arabi 1-0 Al-Yarmouk Mansuriyah, Kuwait City
AST 20:40 Ngoy 84' Stadium: Sabah Al Salem Stadium
10 December 2025 Friendly Al-Arabi 3-2 Al-Salmiyah Mansuriyah, Kuwait City
AST 20:40 Stadium: Sabah Al Salem Stadium

Competitions

Overview

Competition Record
Pld W D L GF GA GD Win %
Premier League 14 7 3 4 24 10 +14 050.00
Emir Cup 1 1 0 0 2 0 +2 100.00
Emir Cup (24-25) 1 0 0 1 0 2 −2 000.00
AFC Challenge League 4 2 2 0 9 4 +5 050.00
Super Cup 1 0 0 1 3 4 −1 000.00
Crown Prince Cup 3 3 0 0 6 1 +5 100.00
Total 24 13 5 6 44 21 +23 054.17

Source: Competitions

Premier League

Results summary

Results by round

Round1234567891011121314151617181920212223
GroundHAHAHAHAAAHAHAHAHHNNNNN
ResultWWDDWWWLWWDLLL
Position22222223222222
First match(es) will be played on 17 August 2025. Source:
A = Away; H = Home; W = Win; D = Draw; L = Loss

Matches

12 September 2025 1 Al-Arabi 2-0 Al-Shabab Mansuriyah, Kuwait City
AST 20:40
Stadium: Sabah Al Salem Stadium
Attendance: 6,538
17 September 2025 2 Al-Fahaheel 0-3 Al-Arabi Mangaf, Fahaheel
AST 20:35
Stadium: Fahaheel Stadium
Attendance: 3,749
21 September 2025 3 Al-Arabi 1-1 Kuwait Mansuriyah, Kuwait City
AST 19:30 Stadium: Sabah Al Salem Stadium
Attendance: 10,400
27 September 2025 4 Kazma 0-0 Al-Arabi Adiliya, Kuwait City
AST 20:20 Stadium: Al-Sadaqua Walsalam Stadium
Attendance: 2,782
19 October 2025 5 Al-Arabi 3-1 Al-Salmiya Mansuriyah, Kuwait City
AST 19:55
Stadium: Sabah Al Salem Stadium
Attendance: 6,223
28 December 2025 6 Al-Tadamon 1-2 Al-Arabi Al Farwaniyah
AST 21:00 Stadium: Farwaniya Stadium
Attendance: 4,824
4 November 2025 7 Al-Arabi 4-0 Al-Jahra Mansuriyah, Kuwait City
AST 19:40
Stadium: Sabah Al Salem Stadium
Attendance: 9,423
9 November 2025 8 Al-Nasr 2-1 Al-Arabi Ardiya, Al Farwaniyah
AST 17:26 Anayo Iwuala 26' Stadium: Ali Sabah Al-Salem Stadium
Attendance: 3,225
17 December 2025 9 Qadsia 1-2 Al-Arabi Hawally, Kuwait
AST 21:00 Stadium: Mohammed Al-Hamad Stadium
Attendance: 16,428
2 January 2026 10 Al-Shabab 0-5 Al-Arabi Al-Ahmadi, Kuwait
AST 21:00
Stadium: Al-Ahmadi Stadium
Attendance: 3,267
15 January 2026 11 Al-Arabi 1-1 Al-Fahaheel Mansuriyah, Kuwait City
AST 21:00
Stadium: Sabah Al Salem Stadium
Attendance: 4,783
24 January 2026 12 Kuwait 1-0 Al-Arabi Sulaibikhat, Kuwait
AST 21:00 Stadium: Sulaibikhat Stadium
Attendance: 9,271
7 February 2026 13 Al-Arabi 0-1 Kazma Mansuriyah, Kuwait City
AST 21:00 Stadium: Sabah Al Salem Stadium
23 February 2026 14 Al-Salmiya 0-1 Al-Arabi Al Salmiya, Kuwait
AST 21:00 Stadium: Thamir Stadium
8 March 2026 15 Al-Arabi v Al-Tadamon Mansuriyah, Kuwait City
AST 21:00 Stadium: Sabah Al Salem Stadium
15 March 2026 16 Al-Jahra v Al-Arabi Jahra, Kuwait
AST 21:00 Stadium: Mubarak Al-Aiar Stadium
17 Al-Arabi v Al-Nasr Mansuriyah, Kuwait City
AST 21:00 Stadium: Sabah Al Salem Stadium
18 Al-Arabi v Qadsia Mansuriyah, Kuwait City
AST 21:00 Stadium: Sabah Al Salem Stadium
April 2026 19 Al-Arabi v TBD
AST 21:00
April 2026 20 Al-Arabi v TBD
AST 21:00
April 2026 21 TBD v Al-Arabi
AST 21:00
April 2026 22 Al-Arabi v TBD
AST 21:00
May 2026 23 Al-Arabi v TBD
AST 21:00

Emir Cup

2024-25 Final

  • this is the postponed Final from the 2024-25 season
23 December 2025 2024-25 Final Al-Arabi 0-2 Kuwait Farwaniya, Kuwait
AST 20:40 Stadium: Jaber Al-Ahmad International Stadium
Attendance: 32,326

2025-26

15 February 2026 Round of 16 Al-Arabi 2-0 Sahel
AST 20:40
28 February 2026 Quarter-Final Al-Arabi v Khaitan
AST 20:40

AFC Challenge League

Preliminary stage

12 August 2025 West Q1 Maziya 0-4 Al-Arabi Maldives
AST 13:00
Stadium: National Football Stadium
Attendance: 328
Referee: Ahmad Faisal

Group Stage

25 October 2025 1 Safa 2-2 Al-Arabi Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan
AST 13:00
Stadium: Dolen Omurzakov Stadium
Referee: Morteza Mansourian
28 October 2025 2 Al-Arabi 2-1 Regar-TadAZ Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan
AST 13:00 Stadium: Dolen Omurzakov Stadium
Referee: Axrol Riskullayev
31 October 2025 3 Muras United 1-1 Al-Arabi Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan
AST 13:00 Stadium: Dolen Omurzakov Stadium
Attendance: 23,000
Referee: Ahmed Kadhim

Super Cup

28 January 2026 Semi-Final Al-Arabi 3-4 Qadsia Jaber Al-Ahmad International Stadium
AST 20:00 Attendance: 18,236

Crown Prince Cup

7 January 2026 Round of 16 Al-Arabi 2-1 Al-Yarmouk
AST 20:00
11 January 2026 Quarter-Final Al-Arabi 2-0 Qadsia
AST 20:00
19 January 2026 Semi-Final Al-Arabi 2-0 Al-Fahaheel
AST 20:00
25 February 2026 Final Al-Arabi v Kuwait
AST 20:00

Statistics

Appearances

Last updated on 23 February 2026.
No. Pos Nat Player Total Premier League Emir Cup ACL Super Cup Crown Prince Cup
Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Goalkeepers
22 GK  KUW Sulaiman Abdulghafour 21 0 12 0 2 0 4 0 0 0 3 0
26 GK  KUW Ahmed Dashti 3 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0
31 GK  KUW Abdullah Al-Ayoub 1 0 0+1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Defenders
29 DF  BRA Reynaldo 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
25 DF  UGA Kenneth Semakula 1 0 0 0 0 0 0+1 0 0 0 0 0
5 DF  SYR Jumma Abboud 22 0 12+1 0 1 0 4 0 1 0 2+1 0
3 DF  KUW Abdullah Ammar 11 0 3+2 0 0 0 0+3 0 0+1 0 1+1 0
4 DF  KUW Mohammed Khaled 20 0 8+3 0 2 0 3 0 1 0 3 0
12 DF  KUW Hamad Al-Harbi 18 1 7+4 1 0+1 0 2+1 0 0+1 0 0+2 0
15 DF  KUW Hamad Al-Qallaf 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
16 DF  KUW Ali Abdul Rasul 14 0 3+4 0 1 0 1+3 0 0 0 2 0
2 DF  KUW Abdulwahab Al-Awadi 21 0 10+1 0 2 0 4 0 1 0 3 0
21 DF  IRN Abdulaziz Nasari 16 1 8+3 0 0+1 0 3 1 0 0 0+1 0
27 DF  MAR Nabil Marmouk 16 1 12 1 1 0 2 0 1 0 0 0
29 DF  KUW Jassem Shammouh 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
38 DF  KUW Abdullah Essa 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
23 DF  KUW Nasser Saeed 4 0 0+1 0 0 0 0+1 0 0 0 1+1 0
Midfielders
7 MF  KUW Bader Al-Fadhel 14 1 2+8 1 0+2 0 0+1 0 0 0 1 0
8 MF  KUW Hussain Ashkanani 1 1 0 0 0 0 0+1 1 0 0 0 0
10 MF  KUW Bandar Al Salamah 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
12 MF  KUW Bader Al-Mutairi 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
97 MF  FRA Hassimi Fadiga 23 8 14 6 2 1 4 0 1 1 2 0
14 MF  KUW Khaled Al-Mershed 16 0 8+2 0 2 0 0 0 1 0 3 0
17 MF  KUW Ali Khalaf 4 0 0+3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0+1 0
20 MF  KUW Nayef Al-Shemmari 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
6 MF  IRN Ali Porusaniei 20 2 10 2 2 0 4 0 0+1 0 3 0
30 MF  KUW Yousef Majed 19 3 4+8 1 0+1 0 3+1 1 0 0 0+2 1
32 MF  KUW Ahmed Awadh 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
88 MF  KUW Abdullah Al-Garzaie 2 0 0+2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
90 MF  KUW Saleh Mohammed 1 0 0+1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
19 MF  BHR Kamil Al-Aswad 7 1 4 0 1 0 0 0 1 1 1 0
Strikers
9 FW  KUW Salman Al-Awadhi 20 4 4+8 3 0+2 1 0+4 0 1 0 0+1 0
11 FW  NGA Christopher John 19 4 7+4 2 1 0 2+2 1 0 0 2+1 1
77 FW  NGA Anayo Iwuala 22 9 12 4 2 0 4 3 1 1 3 1
99 FW  KUW Hussain Al-Aryan 1 0 0+1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
71 FW  KUW Abdulrahman Karam 5 0 0+4 0 0 0 0 0 0+1 0 0 0
20 FW  BEL Julien Ngoy 3 2 2 1 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0
98 FW  PLE Zaid Qunbar 21 5 10+2 2 2 0 3 0 1 0 3 3

Goalscorers

Rank No. Pos. Nat. Player League Emir Cup ACL Super Cup Crown Prince Cup Total
1 77 FW Anayo Iwuala 4 0 3 1 1 9
2 97 MF Hassimi Fadiga 6 1 0 1 0 8
3 98 MF Zaid Qunbar 2 0 0 0 3 5
4 11 FW Christopher John 2 0 1 0 1 4
4 39 FW Salman Al-Awadhi 3 1 0 0 0 4
5 30 MF Yousef Majed 1 0 1 0 1 3
6 6 MF Ali Porusaniei 2 0 0 0 0 2
6 9 FW Julien Ngoy 1 0 1 0 0 2
7 8 MF Hussain Ashkanani 0 0 1 0 0 1
7 12 MF Hamad Al-Harbi 1 0 0 0 0 1
7 7 MF Bader Al-Fadhel 1 0 0 0 0 1
7 7 MF Kamil Al-Aswad 0 0 0 1 0 1
7 21 DF Nabil Marmouk 1 0 0 0 0 1
7 21 DF Abdulaziz Nasari 0 0 1 0 0 1
Own goal 0 0 1 0 0 1
Total 24 2 9 3 6 44

Last Updated: 28 January 2026

Assists

Rank No. Pos. Nat. Player League Emir Cup ACL Super Cup Crown Prince Cup Total
1 4 DF Mohammed Khaled 0 0 1 0 0 1
1 97 MF Hassimi Fadiga 2 0 1 1 1 5
1 6 MF Ali Porusaniei 0 0 2 0 0 2
1 30 MF Yousef Majed 1 0 1 0 0 2
1 9 FW Julien Ngoy 1 0 0 0 0 1
1 98 FW Zaid Qunbar 4 0 2 0 1 7
1 11 FW Christopher John 2 0 0 0 1 3
1 12 MF Hamad Al-Harbi 2 0 0 0 0 2
1 14 MF Khaled Al-Mershed 1 0 0 0 0 1
1 21 DF Abdulaziz Nasari 2 0 0 0 0 2
1 27 DF Nabil Marmouk 1 0 0 0 0 1
1 11 FW Anayo Iwuala 2 1 0 0 2 5
1 11 FW Salman Al-Awadhi 0 0 0 2 0 2
1 5 DF Jumma Abboud 1 0 0 0 0 1
1 22 GK Sulaiman Abdulghafour 1 0 0 0 0 1
1 22 MF Kamil Al-Aswad 1 0 0 0 0 1
Total 21 1 7 3 5 37

Last Updated: 19 January 2026

Clean sheets

Rank No. Pos. Nat. Player League Emir Cup ACL Super Cup Crown Prince Cup Total
1 22 GK Sulaiman Abdulghafour 4 1 1 0 2 8
2 26 GK Ahmed Dashti 2 0 0 0 0 2
3 31 GK Abdullah Al-Ayoub 0 0 0 0 0 0
Total 6 1 1 0 2 10

Last Updated: 19 January 2026

References

  1. ^ "Al-Arabi Sports Club includes player Hamad Al-Harbi in the first football team".
  2. ^ "Al-Arabi Club includes French professional Hasimi Fadiga to the first football team".
  3. ^ "Biography of Ugandan Kenneth Semakula, the new Al-Akhdar professional".
  4. ^ "Al-Arabi Club includes player Abdulaziz Nassari in the first football team".
  5. ^ "Meet Julian Ngouy, Al Arabi's new Belgian striker".
  6. ^ "Moroccan Nabil Marmouk officially joins Al-Arabi to strengthen the defense line".
  7. ^ "Al-Azmi joins".
  8. ^ "Qunbar officially joins Al-Arabi to Spark the Forward line".
  9. ^ "Welcome Back".
  10. ^ "WELCOME REYNALDO CESAR".
  11. ^ "Instagram". www.instagram.com. Retrieved 2025-09-12.
  12. ^ "Instagram". www.instagram.com. Retrieved 2025-09-12.
  13. ^ "Instagram". www.instagram.com. Retrieved 2025-09-12.
  14. ^ "Instagram". www.instagram.com. Retrieved 2025-09-12.
  15. ^ "Officially signed with Al-Shabab Sports Club".
  16. ^ "Sultan Al-Anzi Kazmawi".
  17. ^ "الأهلي يعلن تعاقده مع الكويتي حسن حمدان..." alghad.com (in Arabic). Al-Ghad. 16 July 2025. Retrieved 16 July 2025.
  18. ^ "Biography of Ugandan Kenneth Semakula, the new Al-Akhdar professional".
  19. ^ "Al-Arabi goalkeeper Hussein Shehab Kankouni moves to Kazma Club for two seasons on loan".