Baseball United, the first baseball league focused in the Middle East, has officially announced plans for its inaugural season.
Baseball United’s inaugural season will run from November 14 to December 14, with all games being played at Baseball United Ballpark in Dubai. The Mumbai Cobras and Karachi Monarchs will join the Falcons and Wolves on the field for the first time. The league hosted the UAE Series between two of its franchises, the Arabia Wolves and Mid East Falcons, a Baseball United Ballpark in February.
“Our team has worked so hard, for so long, to make this news official,” said Baseball United Chairman, CEO, and Co-Founder Kash Shaikh in a press release. “We are so grateful for the support of our Dubai and UAE partners, our investors, and all the fans around the globe who’ve helped make BU the most well-known internationally-based professional baseball league in the world. We’ve received all that support through several special events and big milestones since our launch in November of 2022. And now, we get to reward our fans with a full season. Everything starts small, but we believe this will be the beginning of a new chapter in baseball history.”
The league will feature a variety of ex-MLB talent as well. Didi Gregorius, Pablo Sandoval and Robinson Cano have already appeared for Baseball United during the UAE series. More former Major Leaguers, including Andrelton Simmons, will take the field alongside young talent from Asia and the Middle East.
The league will kick off with a historic series between two rivals of the Indian Subcontinent. The Subcontinent Series will feature the Monarchs and Cobras in the first-ever baseball matchup between Indian and Pakistani baseball franchises.
“This historic series will mark the first time Indian and Pakistani franchises have ever faced each other in baseball,” read the Baseball United press release. “The two large countries – with 1.8 billion people between them – enjoy one of the most passionate rivalries in all of sport. The highly anticipated India vs Pakistan cricket match in the ICC Champions Trophy event last month garnered a record 600 million viewers - that is 5 times more viewers than the Super Bowl.”
According to Baseball United, the UAE series reached 3.3 million unique viewers per game in Pakistan. The Subcontinent Series featuring the Monarchs should also do great viewership numbers to kick off the Baseball United season. Full rosters and will be announced later this spring.
Photo: Bartolo Colon of the United East All-Stars pitches against United West All-Stars during the Baseball United Showcase between West All-Stars v East All-Stars at Dubai International Stadium on November 24, 2023 in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. (Photo by Adam Nurkiewicz/Getty Images for Baseball United)
