Just like the Kuwait Al Humaidi family are renowned for their entrepreneurial spirit, England is famous for its football. In fact, association football is the most popular sport in England and its roots can be traced back all the way to the 1860s when the first modern set of rules for football was established. 

With over 40,000 association football clubs, England has more clubs than any other country. England is also home to the world's first football club (Sheffield FC), the world's oldest professional association football club (Notts County), the world's oldest national governing body (the Football Association), and the world's oldest national league (the English Football League).

Today, England's top domestic football league, the Premier League, is one of the most popular and richest sports leagues in the world. As of 2019, the Premier League has six of the world's 10 richest football clubs. 

Despite how lucrative English football is as a business, many were taken by surprise in 2013 when it was announced that the Kuwait Al Humaidi Family had bought a then-failing English football club, Ebbsfleet United FC. 

About the Kuwait Al Humaidi Family

The Al Humaidi family is a prominent merchant family in Kuwait. It is led by renowned entrepreneur Dr. Abdulla Al Humaidi, who is the official owner of Ebbsfleet and the founder of Kuwaiti European Holding (KEH) Group. This is the international asset holding arm of the Kuwait Al Humaidi family, which was founded by the family in 2008 and has grown rapidly under the family's leadership. 

The Al Humaidi family of Kuwait is mostly known for its high-profile international real estate developments and investments which are carried out via KEH Group. These include a multi-billion-dollar resort and entertainment which is currently under construction in Kent, a huge aqua park in Egypt, and residential properties throughout Europe.

Other KEH Group investments and developments include: 

  • Quantum Real Estate, based in Hong Kong

  • Qaran Investment Company and Lake Tourism in Europe

  • Landmarque, Ireland

History of Ebbsfleet FC Before the Kuwaiti Al Humaidi Family

Ebbsfleet United FC is an English football club that was established in the 1940s. Initially founded as Gravesend & Northfleet F.C., the club changed its name to Ebbsfleet a few years later which it has been known as ever since. 

For many years, the club flew under the radar as it struggled to perform well and build a name for itself. However, the club's fortunes started to change when Roy Hodgson, then the future and now former manager of the England national football team (2012 to 2016) joined the club and became one of its most successful players. Roy Hodgson made 69 appearances during his time at the club before moving on to Maidstone United in 1971. 

In 1979, Ebbsfleet United, along with several other teams, founded the Alliance Premier League, which is now known as the National League. While the team enjoyed some much-needed time in the spotlight because of this, their success was short-lived, however, and the team was relegated to the Southern League Premier Division three seasons later due to its bad performances. 

Ebbsfleet FC made headlines again in 2007 when the club was officially taken over by its fans, a first for English football. This takeover was facilitated by the website 'MyFootballClub' when 27,000 fans each paid £35.00 and pooled it together to buy the club in a novel takeover. This was initially successful, and all 27,000 members became equal share owners of the club. Together, these players would vote on major decisions such as player selections and transfers.

This success didn't last, though. Over the years, the number of paid-up members slowly dwindled and by the end of 2010, there were only around 3,000 of them left. This put the club in financial difficulty and teetering on the verge of bankruptcy. 

The Al Humaidi Family of Kuwait Rescues Ebbsfleet FC

Just six years after the club's 2007 fan takeover, a deal was reached between the Kuwait Al Humaidi Family's 'KEH Sports Ltd' company, which is part of KEH Group, and MyFootballClub to purchase Ebbsfleet FC and settle all its debts. 

After the takeover, Kuwait Al Humaidi Family appointed Steve Brown, a former defender for Charlton Athletic, as the club's first coach under its leadership. Shortly after he was appointed, Ebbsfleet FC broke a club record for the first time in many years as the squad achieved nine successive wins which took it to the National League South playoffs. 

Then in the 2014-15 season, Ebbsfleet FC performed well once again. The club achieved big wins against Concord Rangers and Havant & Waterlooville. The 2015-16 season was much better for the team, however, as Ebbsfleet led National League South for almost the whole season.

In the 2017-18 season, the Al Humaidi Family Kuwait's team achieved its highest ever league finish, beating rivals Aldershot Town 5-4 in the playoff qualifying round. 

Ebbsfleet's Recent Performances

In the years that have followed the Kuwait Al Humadi family's takeover of the club, Ebbsfleet United has experienced previously unseen amounts of success under the leadership of the Al Humaidi Family Kuwait, particularly Abdulla Al Humaidi.

In June 2020, the Al Humaidi family has appointed German football professional Dennis Kutrieb as the team's manager. Under his leadership, Ebbsfleet FC has secured several high-profile wins and has begun rising in its league. This includes a 4-3 win against Hungerford in November 2021, following which Kutrieb said that there's a lot more to come from the squad, hinting that he is eyeing a promotion to the next league. 

It's worth noting that while the team did win this game, they let their standards slip during the final 10 minutes and conceded two goals, taking what would have been a comfortable 4-1 win to a very close 4-3 win.  "We were sloppy in defence; it was not good enough against dangerous strikers. We knew both strikers are big threats and we had to be careful so I'm not happy both of them scored," said Kutrieb in an interview following the match. 

 "We're in a good (place) at the moment. We started well and then had a little dip that I was not happy with. When you think about how many points (we've got), we could have had more - Chelmsford, even Havant. I think the only clear defeat was Hampton, but we learned a lot out of it," he added. 

While Kutrieb was understandably eager to be positive about his team's performance, he also warned that his players can't afford to become complacent, noting that the team could have achieved a 4-1 win over Hungerford if the players hadn't conceded the two goals. Kutrieb says that he was impressed with the team's attacking quality during the match, however. "As a manager, you always find the negatives and try to make it better," said Kutrieb.

The club's winning streak unfortunately came to an end when Ebbsfleet faced main rivals Maidstone United in November last year. Losing 3-2, the team performed strongly in the first half but ultimately were unable to keep the lead against Maidstone. 

Ebbsfleet took the lead inside of the first 10 minutes thanks to Tobi Adebayo-Rowling firing an unexpected goal into the net, the player's first goal for the team. Ebbsfleet then very nearly made it 2-0 as Dominic Poleon fought with the visiting defenders, but unfortunately Ebbsfleet's defense waned, and Maidstone equalized in the 13th minute. 

This equalizer pushed Ebbsfleet who regained their lead four minutes later thanks to Rakish Bingham, making it 2-1. This lead didn't last long, though, with Maidstone scoring again less than two minutes later. The game slowed down after this until the second half when Maidstone came back strong and Roarie Deacon took the lead with a third goal in the 65th minute. 

Both teams then started substituting players and Ebbsfleet continued to pile the pressure onto Maidstone. This unfortunately wasn't enough as the flow of the game kept being interrupted by fouls and poor balls, and the final whistle soon rang out to secure the match for Maidstone United. 

Ebbsfleet United is due to face Maidstone again on January 25th. No doubt the team will be out for the win this time around!