Confirming its commitment to empowering Kuwaiti youth in sports

Kuwait, 18 April 2024: Burgan Bank announced its sponsorship of the UK-based Bristol Rovers Football Academy in Kuwait; its latest bid to advance the sports culture in Kuwait and encourage youth to adopt a healthy lifestyle. This initiative comes as part of the Bank’s expansive social responsibility program and its unwavering efforts to encourage aspiring athletic talents across all ages and sports. 
“Football is a sport that is enjoyed by a huge fan base in Kuwait,” Mr. Talal AlAyar, Senior Officer – Corporate and CSR Communications at Burgan Bank, said. “However, it’s time that we paved a path for our young, aspiring athletes to get more involved in their favorite sport and go from merely watching and cheering to playing on the field. In our ongoing mission to provide our community with the best, we are very proud to announce our partnership with the esteemed UK-based club, Bristol Rovers FC, which now operates a Kuwait-based football academy where our youth can get the guidance they need to excel in the competitive sport of football.”
“Many football fans, especially the younger ones, perceive the sport as a chance for stardom,” Mr. Abdulaziz Alroomi, Head of Bristol Rovers Football Academy said. “But at Bristol Rovers Academy, we are well aware of the lasting impact that all sports, especially football, have on the development of our players’ characters – both on and off the field. Besides guiding and honing the academy members’ athletic and technical performance, our coaches put a lot of emphasis on values such as perseverance, commitment, accountability, teamwork, and communication. This guarantees that all players mature not only as athletes but also as rounded, impactful members of their team and community. This has been our mission at Bristol Rover FC for over 140 years and we are very proud to bring our passion for football and our commitment to inspiring the youth through sports to the wonderful people of Kuwait.”
Founded in 1883, Bristol Rover FC is a professional football club that competes in the English Football League’s (EFL) League One and is majority-owned by Kuwait’s Hussain Al-Saeed, who also currently assumes the responsibilities of the Club’s Chairman. From Bristol to Kuwait, Al-Saeed planted the seed of this football legacy in his hometown by launching the Bristol Rovers Football Academy in Sharq, Kuwait City, on January 2024, to inspire the Kuwaiti youth and allow the outstanding players to take part in football camps at the Club’s Memorial Stadium in Bristol, or even officially compete on the UK-based Bristol Rovers team. Leading the football practice at the Academy are Head Coach Brandon Quantrill and Coach Bobby Black.
It serves to note the Burgan Bank remains one of the most dedicated contributors to the overall development of the sports sector in Kuwait, with multiple sponsorships including the 8th edition of Flare Festival, Kuwait’s biggest fitness challenge, the final match of the Kuwait Crown Prince Cup, and “The Workout” Ramadan fitness experience. It also remains a primary sponsor of several national and international champions, including Tareq Al-Qallaf, the wheelchair-fencing Paralympic world champion, and Olympians Yaqoub Al-Youha, Mudhawi Al-Shammari, Ebrahim Al-Dhafeeri, Amal Al-Roumi, Abdulmohsen Al-Ali, and Jude Tawfeeq.