We are here to develop the team and the players, reveals Kuwait coach Rui Bento

Kuwait are pitted in Group A alongside host India, Pakistan, and Nepal.

The Fourteenth edition of the SAFF Championship kicks off, and Kuwait who is one of the two invitational teams along with Lebanon start their Group A campaign against Vincenzo Alberto Annese’s Nepal side .

All the coaches from the participating nations met the Media before the tournament and answered the questions. Kuwaiti coach Rui Bento started off the presser by thanking the SAFF Committee for the invitation in the this edition of the tournament and said, “We expect (to play against) different teams, we expect competitive teams. The mission is to improve our team, our way of playing and this is what we are here for.”

Changes in weather conditions compared to Kuwait

The weather in Kuwait is mostly hot and humid and the weather in Bengaluru is cooler as compared to the home conditions. Speaking of which Rui Bento said, “ The weather is same for everybody and we cannot complain about it but this will be a new experience for our players. They are not used to play in these type of were.”

Playing conditions of the pitch

However, the Portuguese is sceptical about the playing conditions as all the games of the tournament are scheduled to take place as Kanteerava. He elaborated his case by saying, “We are a little bit afraid about the field conditions because the tournament and the quality of the games and betterment of the players we have to wait and see as lots of games (would be played) on the pitch so we can keep the quality of the grass.”

Goals for the tournament

When questioned about the goals of the tournament, Rui Bento answered by saying , “Unlike other teams we did not get the time with players but each game game is one new story. One matchday after second matchday but we are here to develop the team and develop the players and this is what we want in this tournament,” he concluded.