The day has finally come. Nine months after their All-Star Showcase, Baseball United has announced its plans for the 2024-25 seasons. Baseball United is the first professional baseball league focused on the Middle East and South Asia.
In addition to announcing their first professional season, Baseball United is set to host a national team tournament to kick things off with the BU Arab Classic. This new tournament will feature teams from across the Middle East and South Asian regions and will follow the World Baseball Classic rules and regulations, with slight modifications. It is set to unite eight nations, including India, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE. The event will take place from Nov. 7 to 10, 2024. This will mark the largest baseball national team tournament in the history of Dubai.
After the BU Arab Classic wraps up, the Baseball United Cup will get underway a few months later. This will feature BU’s first four franchises, the Mumbai Cobras, Karachi Monarchs, Arabia Wolves, Mid East Falcons, and a new Riyadh-based franchise is set to be announced in early 2025. This eight-day tournament will have teams compete in a round-robin format, followed by semifinals and finals. This tournament will represent the first-ever professional franchise baseball games in the Middle East and South Asia history, roughly 15 months since BU’s All-Star Showcase last November. The tournament will be from Feb. 22, 2025, to March 1, 2025.
But wait, there’s more! Season One of Baseball United will begin in the fall of 2025 and run from Oct. 23, 2025, until Nov. 23, 2025. The inaugural season will include the five franchises competing in the Baseball United Cup. Each team is lined up to play 12 regular-season games, leading to a United Series best-of-three championship that the top two teams will highlight. The league will host 33 games in 32 days, bringing an unprecedented sprint of professional baseball games to Dubai.
Some might be wondering who will be playing on these teams. Baseball United held its inaugural draft in October 2023, with 70% of the players originally drafted by MLB teams. Some players who will be taking the diamond this upcoming winter are Robinson Cano, Jair Jurrjens, Andrelton Simmons, Pablo Sandoval, Didi Gregorious, and Bartolo Colon, to name a few.
“Our small but driven team has pieced together the entire ecosystem of professional baseball in this incredible part of the world, overcoming daily challenges with commitment, passion, and resolve. And now, we are poised to continue making history. I can’t wait to have our players and franchises on the ground in Dubai for the BU Cup in February and our first full season next October. And most importantly, our team and I can’t wait to continue sharing this beautiful game with our amazing fans in Dubai and across the world,” said Kash Skaikh, Chairman, CEO, and Co-Founder of Baseball United. Baseball United’s co-founders include Skaikh, John Miedreich, and MLB Hall of Famers Barry Larkin and Mariano Rivera.
Tickets for the Arab Classic will go on sale in September. Baseball United Cup and Baseball United Season One tickets will be available for VIP and Season Ticket purchases in winter. Fans can join a waitlist at baseballunited.com.
Full game-by-game schedules and venue locations for each event will be shared and announced on BU’s website and social channels in the coming months.
Photo Credit: Baseball United Twitter Page
