Mansour Al Mail
Mansour Al Mail | |
|---|---|
منصور الميل | |
 Mansour Al Mail | |
| Born | 1947 Sharq, Kuwait City, Kuwait |
| Died | 1997 (aged 49–50) |
| Occupations |
|
| Years active | 1960s–1997 |
| Known for | Founding the sports programming department of Radio Kuwait; founding Youth and Sports Radio |
| Children | 8 |
Mansour Al Mail (Arabic: منصور الميل; 1947–1997) was a Kuwaiti sports journalist, radio broadcaster, academic, and businessman. He founded the sports programming department at Radio Kuwait, the state radio service of the Ministry of Information, established the Youth and Sports Radio station, and was the licence holder and editor-in-chief of the magazine Dunya al Shabab wal Riyada ("World of Youth and Sport").[1][2] A commemorative media award was named after him at the 16th Arabian Gulf Cup in 2004.[3][4]
Early life and education
Al Mail was born in 1947 in the Sharq district of Kuwait City.[2] He studied at Al Siddiq School and obtained a diploma from the Teachers' Institute, and began his career as a physical education teacher with the Ministry of Education during the 1960s.[2]
He competed internationally in gymnastics and later qualified as a judge, obtaining the international badge and rising to the rank of first international judge and then head judge with the International Gymnastics Federation.[5][2]
Career
Business interests
Al Mail founded the Al Mail Group, which began trading in Kuwait in the early 1970s. Its activities included contracting, electrical appliances, sanitary ware, photographic studios, an oils factory, laundries, and transport and general trading. The business continued the commercial activity of his father, Abdulridha Al Mail, who had worked in transport and trade from the early 1930s.[1]
Radio
In 1969, Al Mail joined the Kuwaiti Ministry of Information, working in the radio sector, where he founded and headed the sports programming department at Radio Kuwait.[1][2][6] He served as controller of sports programming at the ministry from 1985 to 1994.[7][2] In 1994, he founded the Youth and Sports Radio station and became its first director, and in 1996 he was appointed assistant undersecretary for radio affairs.[2]
Print journalism
Al Mail began working in sports journalism in the early 1970s and was a member of the Kuwait Journalists Association. He founded or worked in the sports desks of several Kuwaiti newspapers and magazines, including Al Rai Al Aam, Al Qabas, Mirat al Umma, and Al Imtiyaz. Regionally, he was the first editor of the sports section of the magazine Al Taawun al Khaleeji. He later founded Dunya al Shabab wal Riyada, of which he was the licence holder and editor-in-chief.[1][2]
Coverage of sporting events
Al Mail headed Kuwaiti sports media delegations covering domestic, Gulf, Arab, and international competitions, and his work focused largely on Kuwaiti football, including the Kuwait Premier League and matches of the Kuwait national football team. During regional tournaments, he worked alongside other Gulf broadcasters; the Emirati journalist Muhammad Al-Joker later recalled commentating by telephone on an Al-Ahli–Al-Arabi match in Dubai with Al Mail seated beside him, describing him as a well-known Kuwaiti media figure.[8][2]
Work with young journalists
The football commentator Ayed Al Rawadan entered football commentary during the 1995–96 season after passing voice and presentation tests on Al Mail's recommendation.[9]
Teaching and academia
Between 1994 and 1996, he served as a seconded assistant professor at the College of Basic Education in Kuwait, and acted as an external supervisor for master's and doctoral students in physical education.[2]
Recognition
The Kuwaiti Ministry of Information named one of its radio studios the "Mansour Al Mail Studio" after his death, and a number of sporting tournaments have been named after him.[10][2] The Kuwait Olympic Committee included him on a list of ten leading figures in the history of Kuwaiti sports media.[2]
Commemorative awards and tournaments
Ahead of the 16th Arabian Gulf Cup hosted by Kuwait, the organising committee dedicated a number of tournament awards to the names of pioneering figures, among them the "Late Mansour Al Mail Award for Best Journalist".[3] At the close of the tournament in January 2004, the award was presented to the Qatari journalist Abdullah Al Marri.[4]
In October 2005, the Ministry of Information, together with the Kuwait News Agency (KUNA), organised the first media Ramadan football tournament, in which media teams competed for the "Late Mansour Al Mail Cup".[11] A Ramadan tournament bearing the Al Mail name has continued to be held.[10][12]
References
- 1 2 3 4 "Almail Group World" (in Arabic). Almail Group. Retrieved 2026-07-16.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 السربل, زيد زياد (2014). الإعلام الرياضي في دولة الكويت: تاريخ وإنجازات (in Arabic). دار السربل.
- 1 2 اللجنة العليا لخليجي 16 تخلد رواد الحركة الرياضية وتطلق أسماءهم على جوائز البطولة [The Supreme Committee of Gulf 16 immortalizes sports pioneers and names tournament awards after them]. Al-Yaum (in Arabic). Dammam. 3 December 2003.
- 1 2 الشويرد يعلن الترتيبات الختامية لـ «خليجي 16» [Al-Shuwaired announces closing ceremony arrangements for Gulf 16]. Al-Azraq (in Arabic). 10 January 2004.
- ↑ أنشطة اللجان الرياضية [Sports Committees Activities]. Al-Rai Al-Aam (in Arabic). Kuwait. 20 August 1980. p. 14 – via Internet Archive.
- ↑ اليوبيل الفضي لإذاعة الكويت 1951-1975 (in Arabic). وزارة الإعلام، دولة الكويت. 1975.
- ↑ اجتماع مسؤولي الإعلام الرياضي [Meeting of Sports Media Officials]. Al-Qabas (in Arabic). Kuwait. 10 April 1990. p. 18 – via Internet Archive.
- ↑ الجوكر, محمد (1 March 2011). ذكريات 38 سنة [Memories of 38 years]. Al Bayan (in Arabic). Dubai. Retrieved 2026-07-16.
- ↑ الخالدي, مبارك (29 March 2008). الروضان: المعلّق دوره وصفي وللتحليل مكان آخر [Al Rawadan: the commentator's role is descriptive; analysis belongs elsewhere]. Al-Anba (in Arabic). Kuwait.
- 1 2 انطلاق دورة الميل الرمضانية [Launch of the Al Mail Ramadan tournament]. Al-Qabas (in Arabic). Kuwait. 17 October 2005. Retrieved 2026-07-16.
- ↑ دورة نقابة الاعلام الرمضانية الاولى لكرة القدم تنطلق غدا [The first media Ramadan football tournament launches tomorrow] (in Arabic). Kuwait News Agency. 18 October 2005.
- ↑ «الميل» تطوي صفحتها الأولى ['Al Mail' Closes its First Page]. Al-Qabas (in Arabic). Kuwait. 24 October 2005. Retrieved 2026-07-16.