Bader Al-Mutawa

Bader Ahmed al-Mutawa (Arabic: بدر أحمد المطوع; born 10 January 1985) is a Kuwaiti professional footballer who plays for Qadsia. He usually operates as a second striker. He wears the jersey number 17.^[1] Al-Mutawa is the second-most-capped international player behind Cristiano Ronaldo.

Bader al-Mutawa

Al-Mutawa with Qadsia in 2007
Personal information
Full name	Bader Ahmed al-Mutawa
Date of birth	(1985-01-10) 10 January 1985 (age 40)
Place of birth	Kuwait City, Kuwait
Height	1.75 m (5 ft 9 in)
Position(s)	Forward
Team information
Current team	Qadsia
Number	17
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2002–	Qadsia	300	(173)
2007	→ Qatar SC (loan)	0	(0)
2011	→ Al Nassr (loan)	9	(3)
International career
2003–2022	Kuwait	196	(56)
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 14 January 2025 (UTC)

Club career

Al-Mutawa was born in Kuwait City. His performance for both club and national teams led to him being nominated for the best Asian player in 2006 and 2010, though Al-Mutawa did not win the prize.^[2]

He was awarded the Kuwaiti league's top scorer for local players in the 2008–09 season with 10 goals.

On 23 July 2012, he began training with Nottingham Forest as their new owners, the Al-Hasawi family, arranged a one-month trial for the striker.^[3] He impressed manager Sean O'Driscoll enough that the club were looking to sign him on a permanent basis but he was denied a work permit and the club wasn't able to sign him.^[4]

On 11 May 2021, he scored his 300th goal for Qadsia in all competitions, including friendly matches, in a 3–1 win over Kuwait SC.^[5][6]

On 2 March 2024, he scored a goal from a penalty kick in the last minutes of the match against Al-Salmiya in a 1–0 win, equaling Firas Al-Khatib’s record as the highest scorer in the Kuwaiti Premier League historically, with 162.^[7] Five days later, he scored a goal in Qadsia 7–0 win over Al-Shabab to become the all-time top scorer in the Kuwaiti Premier League history.

International career

Al-Mutawa's first major competition on international level was the 2003 Arabian Gulf Cup, hosted by Kuwait. The home side finished sixth with only five points from six matches (only Yemen, the newcomer to the Gulf Cup finished the tournament with fewer points, sparing Kuwait the embarrassment of ending up at the bottom of the table of the gulf cup for the first time in their history). Al-Mutawa scored once in Kuwait's only victory of the tournament, a 4–0 win against Yemen.

Al-Mutawa played in the 17th Arabian Gulf Cup in 2004, scoring a goal in the 87th minute against Saudi Arabia in Kuwait's opening match. Al-Mutawa excelled in this tournament, forming a strike partnership with captain and star striker Bashar Abdullah. They managed to score five goals between them. This partnership was short lived as Bashar retired from international football shortly after the tournament and Kuwait was eliminated in the semi-finals by Qatar after topping Group B with two victories and one draw with Bahrain.

At the 18th Arabian Gulf Cup in 2007, Al-Mutawa scored goals against Yemen and in the final group match against the United Arab Emirates, but Kuwait exited the tournament for the first time in their history without winning a single game.

On 3 September 2015, Al-Mutawa scored his second senior hat-trick, in a 9–0 defeat of Myanmar in a 2018 FIFA World Cup qualifier.^[8]

Al-Mutawa was the men's all-time record appearance holder with 196 caps,^[9] after having surpassed Soh Chin Ann's record of 195 recognized by FIFA matches on 14 June 2022.^[10][11][12] His record was equalled by Portugal's Cristiano Ronaldo during the 2022 FIFA World Cup and later beaten by Ronaldo in the UEFA Euro 2024 qualifiers.^[13][14]

Personal life

Al-Mutawa holds the military rank of colonel and he is also director of the Security Affairs Department of the Kuwaiti National Assembly Guard, as sports professionalism is not fully applied in Kuwait.^[15]

Career statistics

Club

As of 15 January 2025^[16]

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition

Club	Season	League			National Cup[a]		Continental		Other[b]		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Qadsia	2002–03	KPL	1	1	1	1	—		0	0	2	2
	2003–04		6	3	2	1	0[c]	0	4	1	12	5
	2004–05		8	5	2	2	—		6	4	16	11
	2005–06		16	19	3	1	6[d]	5	18+	14	43+	39
	2006–07		9	3	3	2	4[d]	0	18+	9	34+	14
	2007–08		4	3	1	0	4[d]	1	3	0	12	4
	2008–09		12	10	3	3	2[d]	0	5	6	22	19
	2009–10		12	7	1	0	6[e]	5	1	1	20	13
	2010–11		5	7	0	0	5[e]	2	2+	2	12+	11
	2011–12		8	7	5	2	7[e]	3	10	4	30	16
	2012–13		14	3	4	4	7[e]	9	3	3	28	19
	2013–14		7	5	5	3	5[e]	1	1	1	18	10
	2014–15		20	12	2	1	11[f]	8	2	2	35	23
	2015–16		14	20	2	1	3[e]	2	1	1	20	24
	2016–17		18	11	5	4	—		4	2	27	17
	2017–18		19	6	1	0	—		6	3	26	9
	2018–19		19	5	3	2	4[e]	2	3	1	29	10
	2019–20		14	9	2	2	0	0	1	0	17	11
	2020–21		23	8	2	0	—		6+	5	31+	13
	2021–22		14	5	1	0	—		0	0	15	5
	2022–23		14	5	2	1	—		4	3	20	9
	2023–24		27	13	6	0	—		0	0	33	13
	2024–25		10	3	0	0	—		3	1	13	4
Total			294	170	56	30	64	38	101+	63	515+	309
Qatar (loan)	2006–07	QSL	0	0	1	0	—		0	0	1	0
	Total		0	0	1	0	—		0	0	1	0
Al Nassr (loan)	2010–11	SPL	9	3	0	0	7[d]	5	3	1	19	9
	Total		9	3	0	0	7	5	3	1	19	9
Career total			303	173	57	30	71	43	104+	64	535+	318

1. Includes Kuwait Emir Cup, Emir of Qatar Cup, King Cup
2. Includes Kuwait Crown Prince Cup, Kuwait Super Cup, Kuwait Federation Cup, Al-Khurafi Cup, Saudi Crown Prince Cup, GCC Champions League, Arab Club Champions Cup
3. Does not include three matches in the AFC Champions League due to Al-Qadsia being expelled from the tournament after security assaulted the visiting team
4. Appearances in AFC Champions League
5. Appearances in AFC Cup
6. Two appearances and one goal in AFC Champions League, nine appearances and seven goals in AFC Cup

International

Main article: List of international goals scored by Bader Al-Mutawa

Appearances and goals by national team and year^[16][9]

National team	Year	Apps	Goals
Kuwait	2003	13	5
	2004	22	7
	2005	13	3[a]
	2006	8	3
	2007	4	2
	2008	9	0
	2009	18	5
	2010	15	10
	2011	19	4[b]
	2012	8	3
	2013	12	5
	2014	9	1
	2015	9	4
	2016	0	0
	2017	4	0
	2018	3	0[c]
	2019	12	3
	2020	0	0
	2021	10	0
	2022	8	1[d]
Total		196	56

Notes

1. RSSSF doesn't include the goal against UAE.^[9][16]
2. Neither RSSSF nor FIFA recognize the match, and so also the goal, against S. Arabia U-23 on 17 December 2011.^[9][16]
3. RSSSF wrongly attributes a goal on Al-Mutawa in the match against Iraq on 10 September 2018.^[9][16]
4. RSSSF doesn't include the goal in the match against Latvia on 25 March 2022.^[9][16]

Honours

Qadsia

• Kuwaiti Premier League: 2003–04, 2004–05, 2008–09, 2009–10, 2010–11, 2011–12, 2013–14, 2015–16
• Kuwait Emir Cup: 2003–04, 2006–07, 2009–10, 2011–12, 2012–13, 2014–15, 2023–24
• Kuwait Crown Prince Cup: 2003–04, 2004–05, 2005–06, 2008–09, 2012–13, 2013–14, 2017–18
• Kuwait Super Cup: 2009, 2011, 2013, 2014, 2018, 2019
• Kuwait Federation Cup: 2008, 2008–09, 2010–11, 2012–13, 2018–19, 2022–23
• Al-Khurafi Cup: 2002–03, 2005–06
• GCC Champions League: 2005
• AFC Cup: 2014; runner-up 2010, 2013

Kuwait

• Arabian Gulf Cup: 2010
• 2010 WAFF Championship: 2010

Individual

• Arabian Gulf Cup top goalscorer: 2010
• IFFHS World's Best International Goal Scorer: 2010^[1]

See also

• List of men's footballers with 100 or more international caps
• List of men's footballers with 50 or more international goals