United Arab Emirates
Stadia

Dubai has a solid heritage as a short-break training destination for football clubs, but continued investment in facilities and infrastructure is enhancing its reputation as a training base in other sports.

ARTICLE PRODUCED IN ASSOCIATION WITH FALCON AND ASSOCIATES.

Golf
Events

Abu Dhabi will play host to its first-ever Ladies European Tour (LET) golf event later this year after an agreement was reached between the body and local organisers.

Football

LaLiga, the organising body of the top two divisions of Spanish football, has entered into a first-of-its-kind partnership with United Arab Emirates-based club Al-Ahli.
Events

The Dubai-based World Federation of Future Sports (WFFS) will next year organise the first-ever World Future Sports Games, it has been announced.
Stadia

Big, bold, brash and backed up with lots of cash. That is by no means a hyperbolic description of the UAE construction industry. This is, after all, home to man-made archipelagoes in the shape of palm trees or a map of the world. This is where the world’s tallest building, the 830-metre Burj Khalifa, is located. Architects here are not known for their subtlety.
Events

Given the stiffling summer heat in the Gulf region, most sports events take place between October and April. However, there have been attempts to stage indoor air-conditioned events, particularly the annual Dubai Sports World, which from June until August offers football, basketball, volleyball and tennis facilities to amateurs.
Sponsorship & Marketing

Deloitte estimates that the sponsorship spend for sports events in Dubai alone is about $100m per year, with 70 per cent of that figure attributed to the seven biggest events.
Media

When it comes to sports broadcasting, you might say the UAE has lucked out with its time zone. “Around 2.2 billion people across Asia, Europe and Africa live in the four time zones either side of Dubai, making it ideally situated to capture a global television audience,” Deloitte’s Economic Impact of Sport in Dubai report states.

Sailing
Business

World Sailing has said it will launch a strategic review of its showpiece Sailing World Cup series and has stated Abu Dhabi has withdrawn its hosting rights to the finale of the ongoing 2016 season.

Tennis
Events

Just over a decade on from the famous tennis publicity stunt atop a skyscraper in Dubai, Dominic Bliss looks at how the UAE sports industry has evolved and where it is heading.

Horse Racing

Middle Eastern horseracing powerhouse Godolphin has unveiled plans to merge its racing and breeding empires.

Cricket
Business

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has auctioned off the five franchises for its inaugural Pakistan Super League (PSL), with the bidding process for the Twenty20 tournament netting $93m (€87.7m).

Golf

Peter Dawson, president of the International Golf Federation (IGF), is to take up a new consultancy role in an effort to help accelerate the development of the sport in Dubai.
Events

Dubai has withdrawn its bid to host the 2016 SportAccord Convention, the annual gathering of international sports federations, associations and companies.

Cricket
Events

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has backtracked on its decision to stage its new franchise-based Twenty20 league in Qatar, stating that it will now be held in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) from February 4-24 next year.

Cricket
Business

Dubai and Sharjah in the UAE are set to host next year’s inaugural Pakistan Super League Twenty20 cricket tournament, according to reports in the Pakistan media.

Squash
Events

The Professional Squash Association (PSA) has confirmed that Dubai in the UAE will host its season-ending World Series Finals events for the next three seasons.

Tennis
Business

India cricket star Virat Kohli has become a co-owner of International Premier Tennis League (IPTL) franchise UAE Royals.