KUWAIT: The thrills of Kuwait’s top football flight, the Kuwait Premier League (Dawri Zain), has finally returned with the 62nd season (2023-2024). With the official kick-off of the new spell, Zain promises fans and football enthusiasts an exciting season in partnership with the Kuwait Football Association. Last year, the company announced its official sponsorship of the KFA’s competitions for the 2022-2026 seasons, which include the biggest two contests: The Kuwait Premier League (Dawri Zain), won by Kuwait SC, and the Zain First Division League, won by Al Shabab SC. Under this partnership, Zain also extends its support to HH the Amir’s Cup, HH the Crown Prince’s Cup, and the KFA Cup (Zain Cup).
Zain drew the curtains on last season with the prestigious Excellence Awards ceremony, where it awarded the top-performing athletes. The very best players were recognized on-stage after being selected by the technical committee for their top performance, wining them the affection of fans and the wider sports community alike. SHASHA, the leading local streaming platform, recently announced it has reached an agreement with the KFA to purchase the broadcasting rights for this season of Dawri Zain. All of this season’s games will be broadcasted for free on the online platform via its widely available apps for smartphones and smart TVs.
Continuing its pledge to support athletes and promote excellence in the league, Zain has dedicated, this season alone, over KD 60,000 worth of cash prizes for players and fans, the biggest prize pool in the local league’s history. The company remains a strong supporter of local athletes and believes that last season’s prizes contributed to elevating the league’s performance and quality. For this, Zain has pledged not only to continue this support, but to even add new prize categories to reflect its interest in shouldering the local sports sector.
This season, Zain’s cash prizes for athletes in the topflight are as follows: Player of the Season: KD 10,000, Best Player in the Round: KD 500 (per round), Season’s Top Scorer: KD 5,000, Season’s Top Local Scorer: KD 5,000, Season’s Best Goalkeeper: KD 5,000, Season’s Best Coach: KD 3,000, Season’s Rising Star: KD 2,000, and Best Photo of Season: KD 1,000. For the Zain First Division League, the company will also present a New Best Player in the Round prize of KD 200 (per round). The Kuwait Football Association has formed a special committee to outline the standards and criteria on which the prize winners will be selected.
The committee is membered by former international players and experts Abdulaziz Hamadah (committee head), Hamad Al Enzi, Ahmad Mousa, Hussain Hakem, and Hussain Al Mutairi. Zain also outlined its plan to interact with fans, where it is preparing many activities and events for the entire season. The company will set up special fan zones, host local-based restaurants and cafes, and more to create the best atmosphere for fans, especially during big games like classicos, derbies, and finals. Spectators at stadiums and followers on social media will both get the chance to compete in special contests to win valuable prizes.
Continuing last season’s success, Zain also announced this season’s Dawri Zain Fantasy League; the first-ever local fantasy football game exclusively dedicated to the Kuwaiti Premier League. The winners of the top three places will share a prize pool of KD 10,000 in cash at the end of the season. The game will officially kick-off with match week 3 after the transfer window closes. Last season’s edition of the game was wildly successful, having attracted thousands of local football enthusiasts and Dawri Zain fans. Holders of the top three places in the leader boards were crowned on-stage during Zain’s prestigious Excellence Awards ceremony, held to recognize last season’s top performing athletes.
With this launch, Zain brings the thrills of Kuwaiti football to the digital space. Fantasy Football is one of the most popular online games in European and international sports leagues, and the company has brought this thrilling and highly competitive experience to local fans with a platform that is exclusively dedicated to the Kuwaiti Premier League. The game is available on the web at dawrizain.com, and on smartphones via the Dawri Zain app for iOS on the App Store and for Android on the Play Store. The game offers a thrilling experience for users to pick their own lineup, compete with other players, and collect the most points to achieve the fantasy league title.
Users must buy 15 players from the available KD 100m budget to form their team, and all prices and points scored reflect the actual performance in the Kuwaiti Premier League. The game is highly competitive and relies on each player’s intuition and how much they know about the league. To encourage fans to play, compete, and passionately follow their teams, Zain offers cash prizes of KD 10,000 to the winners of the Dawri Zain Fantasy Football League. The prizes will be given to the holders of the first three places in the leaderboards at the end of the season as follows: KD 5,000 for the first-place winner, KD 3,500 for the second-place winner, and KD 1,500 for the third-place winner.
Zain firmly believes that the private sector has a vital and active role in developing the local sports and youth sectors, and the company makes this belief a reality by sponsoring and supporting some of the biggest sports programs in the nation. This partnership with Kuwait’s top football competition comes to strengthen the leadership role Zain plays in the local sports scene and is perfectly in line with the company’s sustainability and social responsibility strategy towards the sports and youth sectors.
The post Dawri Zain returns and promises a thrilling season appeared first on Kuwait Times.
