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Kuwait at the 1982 World Cup

The story of the Gulf state's first and only World Cup appearance, with a camel as team mascot.

With the the Middle East's first football World Cup underway, we look back to when Kuwait made its first and only appearance at the World Cup in 1982. The amateur side put in respectable performances against France and England. But press attention focused on the Kuwaitis’ team mascot, a camel called Haydoo, who became such a fan favourite that he even inspired a hit song. Sumaya Bakhsh talked to Kuwait's captain at the tournament, Saad Al-Houti, about how Haydoo came to represent national pride for a team that had been dismissed by the foreign media as a bunch of camel-herders. This programme was first broadcast in 2021.

(Photo: Kuwait players celebrate during the 1982 World Cup. Credit: Getty Images)

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9 minutes

Last on

Sun 27 Nov 2022 03:50GMT

Broadcasts

  • Thu 24 Nov 2022 10:50GMT
  • Fri 25 Nov 2022 00:50GMT
  • Fri 25 Nov 2022 03:50GMT
  • Sat 26 Nov 2022 18:50GMT
  • Sun 27 Nov 2022 03:50GMT

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