Sheikh Fahad Al-Ahmad: the Kuwaiti soccer chief and war hero

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West Asia(without Iran and Saudi Arabia),

     This was a well-known incident at  the WC in 1982. France was winning 3-1 against Kuwait when Alain Giresse scored a goal. However, before  the goal, some of the Kuwaiti players claimed to hear a whistle from the stands and stopped play.  Soviet referee Miroslav Stupar. initially awardedthe goal.  Then, came one of the most  bizarre moments in World Cup history.  Sheikh Fahad Al-Ahmad, the brother of the Kuwaiti Emir and the president of the Kuwaiti Football Association, rushed onto the pitch to remonstrate with the referee. He threatened to pull his team off the field.  Instead of standing firm, Stupar changed his mind and disallowed the goal.  France would score it again to make it 4-1.
     Sheikh Fahad Al-Ahmad's name would make the news again 8 years later. During the invasion of Kuwait in 1990, the entire Royal family fled Kuwait,but Sheikh Fahad Al-Ahmad stayed behind to defend Dasman Palace, the royal residence. He died fighting the Iraqi invaders with his body guards. According to some reports, his dead body was placed in front of a tank and run over.  Allegedly, Sheikh Fahad Al-Ahmad had a peronal feud with Uday Hussein even before the invasion.  He was the President of the Olympic Council of Asia while Uday was was in charge of the Iraqi Olympic Committee.  The pair had clashed many times.  

Some of the unpublished posts from this blog have been turned into a two-volume book: The Multiverse of the Beautiful Game: National Teams of Pure Fantasy.

Volume 1 takes you back in time and asks the questions every football fan has dreamed about. What if Brazil had a more beautiful team in 1982 — would they have cruised to the title? What if the United Kingdom could send its team to the 1970 World Cup? I believe they would have been the strongest side on earth. What if Argentina had fielded both Omar Sivori and Alfredo Di Stéfano together in 1958? What if Johan Cruyff had lined up alongside Marco van Basten, Ruud Gullit, and Frank Rijkaard? What if Eusébio had played for Brazil? And that's only scratching the surface — Volume 1 is packed with legendary "what ifs" that will keep you turning pages.

Volume 2 brings the fantasy closer to home. What if England had Michael Olise, Erling Haaland and others in 2026 — could they go all the way? What if Yugoslavia had gone to the World Cup in 2018? What if the United States could select more players in 2010? It would be the greatest American side ever. And what if Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi had actually played for the same national team in 2006? It could have happened — if the soccer gods had smiled on us.

*** Both Volume One and Volume Two are available now on Amazon. ***