The Yemeni Olympic football team won the match against the Kuwaiti Olympic team; the final score was one-nil. The match was a trial match held last Friday in Kadhma Sports Club in Kuwait.
The Yemeni team put on a good performance, as did the Kuwaiti team. The goal was scored by Basil Awad in the twentieth minute of the first half.
The Yemeni team played well together, filling the gaps in front of the fast Kuwaiti players. The Yemeni defenders withstood the continual attacks, and countered with strong attacks on the Kuwaiti goal.In the second half the Yemeni player Adel Al Salemi almost scored a second goal, but it just missed the Kuwaiti goal.

The Yemeni defense faced tough attacks from the Kuwaiti team, especially towards the end of the match, but the Yemeni defenders and goalkeeper were successful in defending their goal. The match ended with the Yemeni team winning by a score of one-nil.
The Yemeni Team arrived in Kuwait last Wednesday, by invitation from Sheik Fahad Al Ahmed, Chairman of the Kuwaiti Football League. They were introduced by Mr. Ali Al Ashwal, Chairman of the Yemeni Football League when he visited Kuwait for the purpose of drawing lots for the Asian group.
That this friendly match is the first activity with Kuwait since the Gulf crisis reflects the good intentions of a new era. This is good preparation for the Yemeni team in getting ready to go through the tournament between Asian teams for the right to participate in the Sidney Olympics in 2000.
It is worth mentioning here that the Yemeni, Emirati and Qatari teams are included in one group. Al Sharja Emirate will host a match next May, while Al Doha will host a match with Kuwait next July.

 

The committee for nominating candidates for the International Olympic prize for the year 1999 held extensive meetings last week to lay down the requirements for candidates nominated for the prize. "Sports and Education" was the title of this year's prize, which means the winner of this prize should have contributed to spreading and developing sports and education in his country. This shows the importance of connecting sports with education, as this is an essential part of modern Olympic ideas.

Mr. Ali Al Sabahi headed the committee, and Mr. Naser Al Shatheli and Mr. Abdul Hamid Al Saeedi were members of the committee.
The last day of receiving application is the 15th of May; the committee prepared application forms which were distributed to all sports and youth offices in all governorates of the country. The candidates should meet the following requirements:
1.A Yemeni national
2.Still living
3.At least 35 years old
4.Preferably has worked in the field of sports (government or private), or sports educational programs in schools and institutions, or served in the field of sports and education and participated in their development for a period of no less than 10 years.
5.The candidate should have a some major achievement in the private or official sports activities.
6.A clean record, with no disciplinary action having been taken against him for dishonest or unsportsmanlike conduct.
7.The candidate should not be connected financially to the Olympic committee or the Ministry of Youth and Sports, or receive any subsidies from them.
8.Preferably a candidate who has done research and studies on sports and education that have been ratified by official parties.
9.Preferably a candidate with experience in sports and education authority, or has been assigned officially abroad in sports and education positions.
10.Preferably contributing to sports and educational achievements on both national and international levels, or having won medals or awards in competition or seminars and festivals that relate to sports and education.

 

At last the Ministry of Youth & Sports has remembered and honored the squash champion "Waad Hamood" who is famous in the Emirates, and who has had a solid performance in his Asian competitions. He has won many championships for Yemen, with his last achievement the winning of second place in Hong Kong in 1997. But due to the circumstances of his father's death, who was taking care of and financing his activities, his activities and training stopped. No one knew this junior champion's situation, or knew where had gone. Lots of professionals had predicted a bright future for him in international competition, but he had dropped out of sight.

At last Yemen Times has discovered that some preparation is being made so that Waad will be able to represent Yemen in the Arabian tournament which will be held from August 2-18 in the Jordanian capital of Amman. This will be the last Arabian tournament held at the end of the twentieth century.
The Olympic council is ready in participating and adopting all the expenses incurred in Waad's training during the period of his preparation for the Arabian tournament. Some of the sports observers says if the private sector finances this Yemeni champion he might become an international champion in this game and his past performance is the evidence.