Kuwait men's national ice hockey team

The Kuwait national ice hockey team (Arabic: منتخب الكويت لهوكي الجليد) is the national men's ice hockey team of Kuwait. The team is controlled by the Kuwait Ice Hockey Association and a member of the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) since 8 May 2009.[2] As of 28 May 2023, Kuwait is currently ranked 50th in the IIHF World Ranking. Kuwait participated in the IIHF Challenge Cup of Asia, a regional tournament for lower-tier hockey nations in Asia, from 2010 to 2018. Kuwait made its World Championship debut at the 2018 Division III Qualification tournament.[3][4]

Kuwait
Shirt badge/Association crest
The emblem of Kuwait is the badge used on the players jerseys.
Nickname(s)Falcons (الصقور)
AssociationKuwait Ice Hockey Association
General managerFuhaid Al-Ajmi
Head coachMarko Ziđarević
AssistantsMeshal Al-Ajmi
CaptainAbdullah Al-Maragi
Most gamesAhmad Al-Ajmi (107)
Top scorerAhmad Al-Ajmi (71)
Most pointsAhmad Al-Ajmi (133)
Home stadiumKuwait Winter Games Club Ice Skating Rink
Team colors     
IIHF codeKUW
Ranking
Current IIHF52 Decrease 2 (27 May 2024)[1]
Highest IIHF50 (2018–19, 2023)
Lowest IIHF52 (2022, 2024)
First international
Japan  44–1  Kuwait
(Gangneung, South Korea; 30 January 1999)
Biggest win
Kuwait  39–2  India
(Kuwait City, Kuwait; 26 April 2011)
Biggest defeat
Japan  44–1  Kuwait
(Gangneung, South Korea; 30 January 1999)
IIHF World Championships
Appearances4 (first in 2018)
Best result49th (2022)
Asian Winter Games
Appearances4 (first in 1999)
Best result6th (1999)
Arab Cup
Appearances2 (first in 2008)
Best result 2nd (2008, 2023)
IIHF Asia and Oceania Championship
Appearances8 (first in 2010)
Best result4th (2011, 2012, 2013)
GCC Gulf Championship
Appearances4 (first in 2010)
Best result 2nd (2010, 2012, 2014)
International record (W–L–T)
46–65–1
Medal record
IIHF Asia and Oceania Championship
Gold medal – first place 2015 Kuwait City Division I
Gold medal – first place 2017 Kuwait City Division I
Arab Cup
Silver medal – second place 2008 Abu Dhabi
Silver medal – second place 2023 Kuwait City
GCC Gulf Championship
Silver medal – second place 2010 Kuwait City
Silver medal – second place 2008 Abu Dhabi
Silver medal – second place 2014 Kuwait City
Bronze medal – third place 2016 Doha
GCC Games
Bronze medal – third place 2022 Kuwait City

History

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In 1985, Kuwait had joined the IIHF, but was expelled in 1992 due to a lack of ice hockey activity.[5] In 1999, Kuwait played their first games at the 1999 Asian Winter Games against Japan, China, and Mongolia, losing all three.[6] In 2007, Kuwait returned to international play at the 2007 Asian Winter Games where they recorded their first win against Macau.[6] The following year they competed in the Arab Cup finishing second after losing to the United Arab Emirates in the final.[7] In 2009, Kuwait re-admitted into the IIHF as an associate member.[2] In 2010, Kuwait competed in their first Challenge Cup of Asia, finishing seventh overall,[8] and in 2014, finishing 6th overall, losing all five games, and were relegated to Division I. Also they participated in the Kuwaiti organized Gulf Championship, finishing second behind the United Arab Emirates.[9]

Tournament record

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World Championships

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Year Host Result Pld W OTW OTL L
1930 through 1992 did not enter
1993 through 2008 Expelled from IIHF[5]
2009 through 2017 did not enter
2018   Sarajevo 50th place
(4th in Division III Q)
3 0 0 0 3
2019   Abu Dhabi 51st place
(5th in Division III Q)
5 1 0 0 4
2020 and 2021 Cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic[10][11]
2022   Bishkek 49th place
(5th in Division IV)
4 0 0 0 4
2023   Ulaanbaatar 54th place
(3rd in Division IV)
3 1 0 0 2
2024   Kuwait City 54th place
(3rd in Division IV)
3 2 0 0 1

Asian Winter Games

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Year Host Result Pld W OTW OTL L
1999   Gangneung 6th place 2 0 0 0 2
2003   Aomori did not participate
2007   Changchun 7th place 4 2 0 0 2
2011   Astana 11th place
(6th in Premier Division)
6 1 0 0 5
Competed as   Athletes from Kuwait
2017   Sapporo 16th place
(6th in Division II)
3 1 0 0 2
Competed as   Independent Olympic Athletes
2025   Harbin

Arab Cup/GCC Gulf Championship

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Year Host Result Pld W OTW OTL L
Arab Cup (2008)
2008   Abu Dhabi   2nd place 5 3 0 1 1
GCC Gulf Championship (2010–2016)
2010   Kuwait City   2nd place 3 2 0 0 1
2012   Abu Dhabi   2nd place 5 3 0 1 1
2014   Kuwait City   2nd place 5 3 0 0 2
2016   Doha   3rd place 5 3 0 0 2
GCC Games (2022)
2022   Kuwait City   3rd place 3 1 0 0 2
Arab Cup (2023–)
2023   Kuwait City   2nd place 5 4 0 0 1

Asia and Oceania Championship

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Year Host Result Pld W OTW OTL L
2008 and 2009 did not participate
2010   Taipei City 7th place 6 2 1* 3
2011   Kuwait City 4th place 5 2 0 0 3
2012   Dehradun 4th place 6 2 0 0 4
2013   Bangkok 4th place 7 2 0 0 5
2014   Abu Dhabi 6th place 5 0 0 0 5
2015   Kuwait City 6th place
(1st in Division I)
5 5 0 0 0
2016   Abu Dhabi did not participate
2017   Kuwait City 6th place
(1st in Division I)
3 3 0 0 0
2018   Pasay 5th place 4 0 0 1 3

All-time record against other national teams

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Last match update: 22 April 2024[6]

Team GP W T L GF GA
  Algeria 2 2 0 0 14 4
  Bahrain 6 6 0 0 67 12
  Bosnia and Herzegovina 2 0 0 2 1 17
  China 2 0 0 2 1 46
  Chinese Taipei 5 1 0 4 14 60
  Hong Kong 4 0 0 4 3 36
  India 4 4 0 0 70 11
  Indonesia 2 2 0 0 12 9
  Iran 1 0 0 1 2 9
  Japan 1 0 0 1 1 44
  Kyrgyzstan 5 2 0 3 18 37
  Lebanon 1 0 0 1 4 9
  Macau 5 4 1 0 35 7
  Malaysia 9 5 0 4 49 35
  Mongolia 8 0 0 8 12 50
  Morocco 2 2 0 0 15 3
  Oman 11 11 0 0 94 13
  Qatar 4 3 0 1 26 16
  Saudi Arabia 2 1 0 1 15 10
  Singapore 4 2 0 2 11 12
  Thailand 10 0 0 10 17 81
  Tunisia 1 1 0 0 11 4
  Turkmenistan 1 0 0 1 2 24
  United Arab Emirates 17 0 0 17 19 83
Total 112 46 1 65 516 667

References

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  1. ^ "IIHF Men's World Ranking". IIHF. 27 May 2024. Retrieved 27 May 2024.
  2. ^ a b "Welcome, Georgia & Kuwait". International Ice Hockey Federation. 13 May 2009. Archived from the original on 28 December 2010. Retrieved 9 June 2009.
  3. ^ "27 tournaments assigned". International Ice Hockey Federation. Retrieved 19 May 2017.
  4. ^ "2018 Events". International Ice Hockey Federation. 22 May 2017.
  5. ^ a b Szemberg, Szymon; Podnieks, Andrew (2008). "Story #42;Breakup of old Europe creates a new hockey world". International Ice Hockey Federation. Archived from the original on 28 December 2010. Retrieved 9 June 2009.
  6. ^ a b c "Kuwait-Men-All-Time-Results.pdf" (PDF). National Teams of Ice Hockey. Archived from the original (PDF) on 16 December 2017. Retrieved 15 December 2017.
  7. ^ "Arab Cup victory for Emirates". International Ice Hockey Federation. Archived from the original on 15 July 2010. Retrieved 14 May 2010.
  8. ^ "2010 IIHF Challenge Cup of Asia". International Ice Hockey Federation. Archived from the original on 19 April 2010. Retrieved 13 April 2010.
  9. ^ Merk, Martin (8 June 2010). "UAE wins Gulf Championship". International Ice Hockey Federation. Archived from the original on 11 June 2010. Retrieved 9 June 2010.
  10. ^ "IIHF cancels March tournaments". iihf.com. 2 March 2020.
  11. ^ "IIHF – IIHF Council announces more cancellations". International Ice Hockey Federation. Retrieved 18 November 2020.
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