As with each house recreation, the Salisbury FC gamers and training workers went to embrace the followers within the Andrews Terrace at The Ray Mac Stadium after Saturday’s 2-0 win in opposition to Folkestone Invicta.
Alongside the traditional applause and cheers, they have been greeted with a chant that is not a daily from the songbook.
“Kuwait away ole, ole,” sang followers of the Nationwide League South outfit.
The gamers clapped again with an additional buzz – inside 24 hours they might be travelling to the Center East.
“Right away all of us mentioned, ‘yeah, we’re all in,” explains Salisbury participant Luke Russe.
“It is a distinctive alternative and as gamers, we’re so grateful to everyone concerned in making this journey occur. I have 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 entails the membership going through considered one 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 important business development and, for the gamers, a possibility 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 Ray Mac.
“We would like to win the sport,” says Russe. “However on the identical time I believe it is extra concerning the expertise and concerning the membership as a complete, going over there, dwelling that lifestyle and experiencing the sport.
“We have a really younger group, so for them to expertise that and sort of expertise cultures and variations is nice.
“It will be a implausible alternative for us gamers, for the workers, and I believe it’s going to deliver the entire membership even nearer to what we are actually.”