Baseball United announces dates for first full season and inaugural cup

Kash Shaikh, Chairman, CEO, and Co-Founder of Baseball United. (Baseball United)
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Updated 01 August 2024
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Baseball United announces dates for first full season and inaugural cup

  • New Dubai-based league will also host first national team tournament as part of its yearly calendar

DUBAI: Baseball United, the first professional baseball league focusing on the Middle East and South Asia, has announced plans for its first full season.

The ambitious 12-month calendar of events includes a professional tournament, the Baseball United Cup, as well as the Baseball United Arab Classic which will feature the official national teams from across the region. All events will be held in Dubai.

Season One will begin next fall, running from Oct. 23 to Nov. 23, 2025. The inaugural season will include five Baseball United franchises — the Mumbai Cobras, Karachi Monarchs, Arabia Wolves, Mid-East Falcons, and a new Riyadh-based franchise to be announced early next year.

Each team will play 12 regular season games, culminating with a United Series best-of-three championship featuring the top two. Overall, the league will host 33 games in 32 days.

The Baseball United Cup will take place from Feb. 22 to March 1, 2025, and will feature the Cobras, Monarchs, Wolves and Falcons in an eight-day tournament. Teams will compete in a round robin format, followed by semifinals and finals. The cup will represent the first professional franchise baseball games in the history of the Middle East and South Asia, coming roughly 15 months after BU’s All-Star Showcase event which was held in Dubai last November.

“After nearly three years of round-the-clock work, and a lifetime of dreaming, we are grateful and proud to announce the dates for the BU Cup and BU Season One,” said Kash Shaikh, chairman, CEO, and co-founder of Baseball United.

“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.”

The franchises are made up of top professional players from around the world. The league’s inaugural draft, in October 2023, saw 70 percent of players originally drafted by Major League Baseball teams, including former MLB All-Stars and Gold Glove winners like Robinson Cano, Jair Jurrjens, and Andrelton Simmons. Roster updates and changes will be shared as they happen on baseballunited.com.

In addition to the professional games, Baseball United will also continue to help grow and develop local talent across the region with the introduction of the BU Arab Classic. The new tournament will feature national teams from countries across the Middle East and South Asia and follow World Baseball Classic rules and regulations, with a few regional modifications.

The inaugural event will bring together eight nations, including India, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and the UAE, and is set to take place this year from Nov. 7-10.

“From day one, we’ve believed in both a top-down, and a bottom-up approach to growing the game in this region,” said John Miedreich, Baseball United’s vice chairman, executive vice president and co-founder.

“We’ve been working with the national teams in the region for the last two years, and now our Arab Classic event will provide a broader foundation and a bigger stage for us to continue our development work. We truly believe in the potential and talent of young athletes in this part of the world.”


FIA, Formula 1 and all 11 race teams sign 9th Concorde Agreement

Updated 13 December 2025
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FIA, Formula 1 and all 11 race teams sign 9th Concorde Agreement

  • FIA President Mohammed Ben Sulayem says new contract secures the FIA Formula One World Championship’s long-term future

DUBAI: The Federation Internationale de l’Automobile, the global governing body for motorsport and the federation for mobility organisations worldwide, and Formula One Group, the commercial rights holder, have announced the signing of the Concorde Governance Agreement, a contract defining the regulatory framework and governance terms of the FIA Formula One World Championship until 2030.

This follows the announcement in March that the 2026 Commercial Concorde Agreement had been signed by all the teams and Formula One Group.

Together, these agreements constitute the ninth Concorde Agreement, a major step forward in the professionalisation and global development of the sport.

First introduced in 1981, the Concorde Agreements are designed to promote sporting fairness, technological innovation and operational excellence, and align all key stakeholders around a shared vision for structured governance and continued growth of the sport.

Each iteration of the Concorde Agreements has shaped the FIA Formula One World Championship into the global spectacle it is today.

The ninth Concorde Agreement announced today marks the beginning of a new era of collaboration between the FIA and Formula One Group, who have worked together to write the next chapter in Formula One history, demonstrating mutual respect, transparency and shared purpose between the two organisations.

It confirms the participation of all FIA Formula One World Championship teams, including the incoming Cadillac Formula One team, through the end of the decade, and provides a stable foundation for the sporting and technical evolution of the sport.

The Concorde Agreement underscores the commitment of the FIA, Formula One Group and all teams to continue growing and developing the sport, and to keep driving the momentous expansion it has enjoyed in recent years.

The new contract enables the FIA to invest further in improved race regulation, race direction, stewarding and technical expertise for the benefit of the championship, and means the sport can continue to evolve, providing exciting technological innovation and sporting action for fans, broadcasters and partners, all within a stable and structured regulatory framework.

Combined with record viewership growth, a dynamic race calendar, and increasing engagement from younger audiences, the FIA Formula One World Championship enters this next chapter with unprecedented momentum.

Mohammed Ben Sulayem, president of the FIA, said: “The ninth Concorde Agreement secures the FIA Formula One World Championship’s long-term future and I am proud of the dedication that has been invested in this process.

“I would like to thank Stefano Domenicali and his team in what has been a strong collaboration, building a framework grounded in fairness, stability, and shared ambition. This agreement allows us to continue modernising our regulatory, technological, and operational capabilities, including supporting our race directors, officials, and the thousands of volunteers whose expertise underpin every race.

“We are ensuring that Formula One remains at the forefront of technological innovation, setting new standards in global sport.”

Domenicali, president and CEO of Formula One Group, said: “Today is an important day for Formula One. As we celebrate 75 years of this incredible sport, we are proud to write the next chapter in our long and amazing history.

“This agreement ensures that Formula One is in the best possible position to continue to grow around the world. I want to thank the president of the FIA, Mohammed Ben Sulayem and all the teams for the collaboration and determination to achieve the best results for the entire sport in our discussions.

“We have a huge amount to be proud of, but we also are focused on the opportunities and exciting potential for Formula One in the years ahead.”