Kuwaiti mother seeks Swiss bride for her son during Volleyball championship
At a volleyball championship, a Kuwaiti woman asked Swiss coach Frank Bibia to choose a bride for her son, unknowingly selecting his 15-year-old daughter.
In a bold twist on tradition, a Kuwaiti mother defied expectations and rewrote the rulebook on matchmaking. While many women seek brides for their sons at weddings, she took a far more unconventional route—skipping the usual venues and instead proposing to a Swiss girl for her son in the middle of a stadium!
Frank Bibia, coach of the Geneva women’s volleyball team, recounted a surprising encounter during the second international volleyball championship at Salwa Al-Sabah Sports Club in Al-Qurain, where teams from Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Qatar, Iraq, Lebanon, and Switzerland competed.
Interestingly, just as Bibia’s team was preparing to face Iraq, a Kuwaiti woman approached him and asked if she could choose a bride for her son from his team. Amused, he told her to go ahead, and out of 13 players, she unknowingly selected his own daughter, Keliya.
Bibia continued that the lady told him, that it’s great to start arranging the marriage. The boy’s father was there with her, and they were ready for anything I asked them, and she showed him the picture of her son. The Kuwaiti woman’s son appeared much older than Bibia’s daughter. He then smiled and thanked her and her husband but explained that his daughter is still very young, only 15 years old and still in school.
Furthermore, Bibia added that the lady was very nice, and after the match, she returned to greet the entire team, shaking hands with all the players. He continued telling the woman that he has two daughters, Keliya (15) and Shayna (18), and they are still too young for marriage. But the woman’s gesture itself was wonderful and completely new to him.
Shayna, the eldest daughter, recalled, that honestly, she was very surprised by the request because things don’t work like this in Switzerland. It’s just different, she added with a laugh. It was funny and kind of cute. Shayna said that she never expected someone to propose to her little sister during a volleyball match!
The Swiss Ambassador to Kuwait, H.E. Tiziano Palmelli, told Al-Jarida, that it’s a beautiful story that highlights the special ties between the two countries. And who knows? Maybe this marriage will happen one day, and they will be able to say, ‘we were there and knew how it all began’.
