Baseball United, which held its first season of professional baseball in the United Arab Emirates in November and December 2025, will not hold a season in the winter of 2026-27.
During the coming year, Baseball United plans to “focus on expanding participation opportunities, strengthening engagement with schools and local communities, enhancing coaching and officiating standards, developing sports workforce pathways, broadening international relationships and creating new opportunities for partners and fans,” the league said in a July 3 press release. “As part of this long-term strategy, the league’s next professional season will take place in 2027.”
The Mid East Falcons won the inaugural Baseball United championship in December 2025, taking the three-game championship series from the Mumbai Cobras at Baseball United Ballpark in Ud Al-Bayda, located about 18 miles outside of downtown Dubai near Sevens Stadium and a number of cricket fields. A 27-game series featuring new and innovative rules brought baseball fans from all over the world who live in the region, as well as curious locals, out to the little ballpark in the desert.
Less than three months after the Falcons hoisted the trophy, though, war broke out between the United States, Israel, the U.A.E., along with several other states in the Persian Gulf region, and Iran, putting a second season of professional baseball in the Persian Gulf region in question.
In May, Barry Larkin, Baseball United’s Chairman of the Board, told World Baseball Network, “There will come a time and point where we have to decide, from a business perspective, ‘Okay, this is our go-or-no-go date.’ And, you know, it affects our marketing of the product, it affects our ticket sales, it affects a lot of different things if we go past a certain date.”
“We would never ever put our players in harm’s way. If the conflict is not resolved, and resolved in a manner that we feel [safe] …Most importantly, it’s Dubai, [that] they feel that it’s safe for us, because they want us to be there. They want us to have a great experience. That part of the world is really important to them,” Larkin continues. “Tourism is a huge part of what they do. And so we’re working with the Department of Tourism. They want us to have a great experience, and they certainly do not want any tourists to come there and be exposed to the conflict. So there’s going to become a date where it’ll be a go or no-go for us, but certainly that barometer will be the safety and health of all the players as well as their families.”
It would appear that the go-or-no-go date has come and gone.
“We’re building something designed to last for not just seasons, but for generations,” John Miedreich, Baseball United’s CEO, said in the July 3 press release. “Throughout 2026, we’ll continue investing in education, partnerships, infrastructure, and fan engagement while preparing for Season 2 in 2027. This approach positions Baseball United for sustainable long-term growth across the Middle East and South Asia.”
Photo: Munenori Kawasaki of the Mid East Falcons went 5-for-12 in the United Series with a key ground rule double in Game 2, and went 2-for-5 in Game 3 with an RBI and a run scored on his way to winning the series MVP award. (Photo courtesy of Baseball United)
