Fahad Al-Ansari, Mohammad Ibrahim, Capello, Luis Figo, Mohammad Jragh and Nesta

KUWAIT: His Highness the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah is scheduled to patronize and attend inauguration of Jaber Al-Ahmad International Stadium today. His Highness the Amir will inaugurate the stadium in Al-Ardiah district at 07:30 pm tonight

During the press conference held prior to the Jaber Stadium opening celebration. Sheikh Mohammad Al-Abdallah Al-Mubarak said that most world soccer stars have arrived, and few others will be here soon.

He thanked all those who contributed to the event, and to achieve what HH the Amir instructed us was to make soccer fans happy.

When asked about the withdrawal of some players and whether this will affect the celebration, Sheikh Mohammad said, whenever a star withdrew, we replaced him with another. He said there are those who did not arrive, but already signed contracts and will arrive within hours, and we will reveal a huge surprise before the match, if there are no obstacles on the way.

About FIFA's interference Sheikh Mohammad said it was strange for them to do so. He added that the match, today, will not follow the rules of FIFA, so it is strange for it to get involved in a match that will not be according to their rules.

He said there is no fear for anyone who is participating in this event, because it will not follow the FIFA rules, and by this, we hope to protect participants in this event.

When asked about the next step following the opening of Jaber Stadium, and what will Kuwait do to solve the sports problem in general, Sheikh Mohammad Al-Abdallah said, that efforts of officials headed by Minister of Information, State Minister for Youth Affairs and Sports Public Authority are ongoing in direct contact with sports bodies. Kuwait confirms that it is a pioneer in the independence of sports, and we believe that there is no clash between our laws and international ones.

I understand that sports clubs sent letters to Kuwait Football Association and the Olympic Committee, and hope all these efforts will remove the hardships Kuwait sports in going through.

ELITE GROUP OF PLAYERS

The organizing committee of the Jaber Stadium opening ceremony held its second press conference yesterday in the presence of State Minister for Cabinet Affairs, Acting Minister of Electricity and Water, Chairman of the Organizing Committee Sheikh Mohammad Al-Abdallah Al-Mubarak.

Those who attended the conference were Fabio Capello, who will coach the World Stars team, Alessandro Nesta, who is considered an AC Milan team legend, and Portuguese star Luis Figo, representing the World Stars. Meanwhile the Kuwaiti team was represented by coach Mohammad Ibrahim, Mohammad Jragh and Fahad Al-Asari.

Responding to a question coach Fabio Capello said that this is his first visit to Kuwait, and very proud to be here and participate in the stadium opening. He said it is pleasant to "sit next to my colleague the Kuwaiti coach.

Meanwhile, Mohammad Ibrahim said he is honored to coach an elite group of players in this celebration, and thank the organizing committee and those who selected me as coach. It is really our patriotic duty to be involved in this event.

He said many people are waiting for this event, and hope that such fine moments remain forever, and be happy at all times, and thank our guests.

Mohammad Al-Ibrahim said jokingly, that he has prepared a defensive plan to play against Ancelotti, but now it will be an offensive plan against Capello.

When asked about FIFA's reaction Capello said we came here to have a fantastic event and play a football game and not get into political problems.

Capello said this is his first visit to Kuwait and when he was "asked to manage this group of people who I also managed in different teams, it was my pleasure to oblige.

Mohammad Ibrahim said he was happy to be with the world's elite of coaches and players, adding that "I was following them on TV, and today I am so close to them, and hope to see creativity and good performance in the stadium.

Capello said that "I just finished my venture in Russia, where I was really happy, but now I am working as technical commentator on TV, and as for the future I received several offers, and I cannot say what will happen if I receive an interesting one."

Meanwhile, Italy's Alessandro Nesta said that this his second time in Kuwait, and during the first time the weather was very hot, but today it is much better. I love this country, and I love the people, because they are very friendly, and hope to come again in the future.

FANTASTIC STADIUM

When asked about the problems Milan is facing, he said it is not a good moment, as they are facing many problems, and "I do not know what the big one is, but Milan spends less money than before and this is the first problem. I hope Milan can win again in the future.

Kuwait's Fahad Al-Ansari said, "I am honored to be with the coach and stars, and honored to be under the leadership of Mohammad Ibrahim for the second time, and thank the organizers of the opening ceremony and the friendly match, as well as those who voted for me to be in this match.

Luis Figo, I visited many countries around the world, Kuwait is a different country but we are similar at the end, we are family loving... many kids... He said "I do not avoid to talk about anything, and do not have any problem to give my opinion but I think the mean reason we are here is to launch this fantastic stadium, and it is a historic moment for Kuwait, and it is a pleasure to come back again to this fantastic country where I have a lot of friends, and I feel like being at home. I believe it is a privilege for Kuwait fans to have the opportunity to see their icon in Kuwait."

Mohammad Jragh said he thanked all those involved in the celebration and special thanks to the Kuwaiti fans who voted for me. He said it is an honor to have Luis Figo as an idol.

Figo said he came to Kuwait three times before, all because of football, the first time was at the invitation of Al-Roudhan family. He added that this kind of events is the reason where people show their love of football, and the people of Kuwait can be happy.

I hope that tonight the stadium will be full, because the event means a lot, and it is not that every day you open a national stadium, and I am very proud to be involved.

Responding to Kuwait Times about the situation with FIFA, Figo said that he denounce many things he saw when he announced he will be running for FIFA presidency. "It is not a surprise what is coming out right now in the form of corruption and scandals, and like I said when I was candidate I think FIFA needs change in its charter and this means there should be a change of leader.

He said right now I support Gianni Infantino, because he can make the changes, otherwise things will continue to be the same.

So, I hope that the local organizations think about what is good for the future of the game come February, and hope that it will be democratic elections of the new FIFA president.

By Abdellatif Sharaa