Big things are happening in Dubai, and no I don’t mean another massive skyscraper or Ferrari museum. I mean big things are happening there with respect to baseball. It has been some time since the topic of Baseball United came up on this blog, but now that important work that had been ongoing in the background has come to light, it’s time to revisit Baseball United. There have been three key developments that I want to drill down on in this piece. First, Dubai is getting its first ever ‘made for purpose’ ballpark, no more retrofitting a cricket field. Secondly, there will be a couple of interesting events in the coming months for us to chew on while we await the inaugural full Baseball United season next October. And finally, under the auspices of Baseball United, the foundation is being created for the UAE to have its own national baseball team. These are exciting times as baseball makes an important breakthrough in the Middle East so let’s explore that further.
A baseball specific stadium is a very important development for two reasons. For starters, it saves on the costs of having to retrofit a cricket stadium, or any kind of stadium, for use as a baseball venue, and those costs are not insignificant. Furthermore, the fact that the Emirati authorities would sanction the building of a baseball specific venue shows a clear sense of commitment and seriousness in trying to grow the game. Building ballparks, or any kind of other infrastructure costs money, and if the Emirati authorities are participating in this, then they clearly believe baseball is something worth investing in. That is a very good thing. Hopefully, this will only be the first of many baseball stadiums that will spring up in the country.
It should also be noted that this will be a very busy winter for Baseball United. To kick things off, we will have the first ever Arab Classic running from November 7-10. For the national teams of numerous countries, this will be the first opportunity to compete in a major international tournament that will hopefully be a staple going forward as the game grows in the region. This event will be followed up in February by the first ever Baseball United Cup, a tournament format event that will serve as the debut of the first four Baseball United franchises. I guess here they’ve borrowed a bit from European soccer where they often have the league season and also a knockout tournament cup event. These short events are important because they will help keep the momentum rolling and the spotlight on Baseball United in the build up to the main event, the inaugural Baseball United league season starting in October 2025. A lot of important work has gone on already since the showcase event last winter, but it’s been largely behind the scenes. Now is the time for more public developments to keep Baseball United in the public conscience and these two events will help achieve this.
The last important development is the institution of an Emirati national team. Up to now, the Gulf nations, the UAE included, have Little League clubs, but have never been regular participants in senior international competition like Premier 12 or the WBC qualifiers. Now, it finally looks like this could change very soon. The Arab Classic will serve as the first key testing ground for some of these emerging national teams like the UAE. It will be an initial opportunity to play for regional supremacy and gain ranking points that can bring them into consideration for opportunities like the WBC qualifiers somewhere down the road.
The Middle East is changing in a lot of ways. The sporting landscape is just one of those things. Baseball is invading and looking to become a key part of the region’s sporting landscape. It is one more frontier to break through for an increasingly international game. We are getting closer to the time when we can finally call baseball a truly global game, played in every nation all over the world.
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