Perhaps it isn't totally surprising that baseball is played in the gulf states such as Saudi Arabia and the UAE. After all, the countries host a considerable number of American expats and in some cases American military bases. However, they have yet to make a mark on the international baseball scene save for some headway in Little League ball. However, baseball is finding its way in the gulf states and this piece is a look into their baseball journey.
UAE
The Emirates airline is a sponsor whose logo you will see at Dodger Stadium. However, there is more to baseball in the UAE than just that, and should be more still in the future as MLB continues courting fans in the Middle East. Be not alarmed if you see a Dubai Series at some point on the major league schedule.
According to one survey, around 14% of respondents between the ages of 14-69 have an interest. This is a start given the little coverage baseball gets there compared to soccer or Formula One. The Dodgers and Emirates have also worked together to boost the local Little League scene. Chase Utley and Justin Turner were also in Dubai a few years ago.
Baseball also has its role to play in the recent Abraham Accords formalizing full diplomatic ties between the UAE and Israel. Field of Peace was a 2021 initiative that served to get Emirati and Israeli Little League players playing in a series featuring matches in both countries.
Another exciting development is the launch of the United International Baseball League which is intended to service India, Pakistan and the Middle East. It is due to begin with a showcase event in Dubai programmed for February 2023. It can count in the support of Hall of Famers Mariano Rivera and Barry Larkin.
The ethos in the UAE seems to be "build it and they will come". It also seems to be "build it bigger and better". They will come. "People will come Ray".
Saudi Arabia
So there are actually two Saudi born major leaguers, Craig Stansberry and Alex Wilson. No joke! Look it up. Both were born in Dharram to American expats. Wilson was even on the Boston Strong team of 2013 and played in the 2017 WBC.
Saudi Arabia has also made its mark on the history of Little League baseball with multiple appearances in the Little League World Series tournament. Again, American expats and their children are key to this.
Before 2020, baseball in the country was under the auspices of the Saudi Olympic Committee. Since then though, a Saudi baseball federation has been established and now oversees the game in the kingdom. The current stated goal is building up talent in the country so as to achieve competitiveness on the regional and eventually worldwide stage.
Currently, baseball remains a niche sport in the kingdom, but the Saudis are in contact with major American sports organizations including MLB. There will hopefully be more investment and with it more interest in the game over the coming years.
Qatar
The small but wealthy gulf country has something of a presence on the Little League circuit. Qatari network BeIn Sports also carries MLB games in the Middle East. However Qatar currently is not ranked by the WBSC and baseball is not a particularly popular sport in the country.
That said, Qatari sports authorities have voiced a willingness to change this. There is a stated goal of inaugurating the first baseball stadium in Qatar by 2030. Qatar also intends to assemble a national baseball team in time for when they are due to host the Asian Games in 2030. So far, the only baseball field in the country is in the American School of Doha.
Other Countries
Unfortunately, I found little on baseball in Kuwait, Yemen or Oman in spite of some extensive rummaging on Google. The only thing of note is that Kuwait does have a Little League program for which they have an online social media presence. There was also an article about a Kuwaiti teenager who spent his high school years here in Canada and eventually earned an NCAA scholarship to play college ball. That said, I found nothing about the history of baseball in the countries. About Bahrain I did find that the US Embassy had hosted a game a few years back with some giveaways for spectators but little else.
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