DUBAI: Baseball United, the first professional league dedicated to the Middle East and South Asia, has announced its first event of 2025 which will have its two UAE franchises face-off next month.
The three-game UAE Series will feature the Dubai-based Arabia Wolves and Abu Dhabi’s Mid East Falcons. The games take place from Feb. 14 to 16 at Baseball United Ballpark, which forms part of The Sevens Sports and Entertainment Complex in Dubai.
The UAE Series will mark the first time Baseball United’s franchises take the field, as well as the first time a professional baseball club competes in the Middle East.
The two franchises have rosters made up of former Major League Baseball players, including former New York Yankees stars Robinson Cano and Didi Gregorius for the Wolves, and former San Francisco Giants standouts Pablo Sandoval and Alejandro De Aza for the Falcons.
The UAE Series will mark the third marquee event hosted by Baseball United in Dubai, following the successful Baseball United Dubai All-Star Showcase in November 2023, and the recent Baseball United Arab Classic in November 2024.
All UAE Series games will be hosted at Baseball United’s new ballpark — the first professional baseball field in the region.
“Thanks to the hard work of our team, and the inspired collaboration with partners, we closed out last year with several historic milestones,” said Kash Shaikh, chairman, CEO, and co-founder of Baseball United.
“We built the first ballpark in the history of the region, we hosted the largest national team tournament in the history of the region, and we launched our official merchandise program at retail and online.
“Next month, we are making history again. Our two UAE-based franchises — the first professional baseball franchises in the history of the Middle East — will take the field for the first time. I’m so excited for our fans in Dubai and around the world to finally see the Wolves and Falcons in action.”
Each team will feature five prospects from the region playing at professional level for the first time. The prospects were selected based on their performance at the Baseball United Arab Classic, as well as via Baseball United’s regional scouting program.
Baseball United’s franchises are made up of professional players from around the world.
The league’s inaugural draft was held in October 2023, with 70 percent of selected players originally drafted by Major League Baseball teams. This includes former MLB All-Stars Cano, Sandoval, Bartolo Colon, and Jair Jurrjens, and four-time Gold Glove Winner Andrelton Simmons.
In addition to the Wolves and Falcons, Baseball United has announced the Mumbai Cobras and the Karachi Monarchs as its two other founding franchises.
Baseball United was co-founded by Shaikh, John Miedreich, and MLB Hall of Famers Barry Larkin and Mariano Rivera in November of 2022.
Its ownership group now includes 20 MLB legends, including Hall of Famer, Adrian Beltre and stars Felix Hernandez, Ryan Howard, Albert Pujols, Ronald Acuna Jr., Robinson Chirinos, and Cano.
Tickets are on sale on Platinumlist. Games will be broadcast across the Middle East and streamed for free on baseballunited.com.
