Four-time major winner Rory McIlroy is set for a stunning return to the Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship where he has his sights focused on winning his first Falcon Trophy.
McIlroy, who has teed off his season in Abu Dhabi for the past seven years and has been a three-time runner up in the UAE capital, says he’d love to finally conquer the event during its 10 year anniversary celebrations. And with a recent stretch of success behind him that has brought two major wins, McIlroy believes he can continue the scintillating form into his season opener in January at Abu Dhabi Golf Club’s National course.
“Over the past few months I have been mentally strong and I feel very good about my game at the moment,” said McIlroy, who will attempt a career grand slam at Augusta in April next year.
“Greatness in golf is winning Major Championships but after playing in Abu Dhabi for so many years and having come so close in the past, I would love nothing more than to win at the event’s 10 year anniversary. That would be something very special and would mean a lot to me.”
McIlroy has enjoyed an incredible run of form this summer, clinching three huge back-to-back events in the Open Championship, the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational and the PGA Championship to revive his position as the world’s top golfer. And with the Ryder Cup only weeks away, McIlroy’s magic touch will be called upon again as Europe shapes up to attempt a third consecutive victory in one of the world’s greatest sporting contests
The 25-year-old, however, narrowly missed out on bagging his first Falcon Trophy in Abu Dhabi earlier this year, after suffering a two-shot penalty to lose the joint-lead at the end of day three. McIlroy eventually shared second place with Phil Mickelson as Spaniard Pablo Larrazabal kept his nerve and added his name to the Championship’s history books.
McIlroy has experienced his share of ups-and-downs on the challenging course at Abu Dhabi Golf Club. With another two runner-up results in 2011 and 2012, and third place in 2010, the Ulsterman has come nail-bitingly close on several occasions. The exception came in 2013 where he and Tiger Woods unexpectedly failed to make the cut.
“Rory’s presence will add to what promises to be the Championship’s most exciting year yet as we look to assemble another amazing line-up of the world’s top players to celebrate our tenth anniversary,” said Sultan Al Dhaheri, Acting Executive Director Tourism, Abu Dhabi Tourism & Culture Authority (TCA Abu Dhabi), which owns and organises the Championship.
“Abu Dhabi has come to mean a lot to the players over the years and we are so pleased to be welcoming Rory back for such an important milestone in the event’s history.”
HSBC Global Head of Sponsorship & Events Giles Morgan said: “HSBC’s ambition is to open up the world of golf. That is exactly why we are involved in golf and in this tournament. I believe we are fulfilling our ambition in Abu Dhabi and by working closely with our partners, this Championship has evolved into an unmissable event which appeals to absolutely everyone."
Tailored package details for the 2015 Championship, which will be held from Jan. 15-18, are available from www.golfinabudhabi.com. Championship packages include five nights’ accommodation in one of Abu Dhabi’s leading hotels, two rounds of golf on Abu Dhabi’s Championship courses, season passes to the Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship as well as an array of stunning tourism attractions. To top this off, all those who book packages will enjoy a complimentary clinic with a world top 30 player.
McIlroy to play Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship
McIlroy to play Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship
NBA–DCT Abu Dhabi long-term renewal expands league’s footprint across UAE
- Academy launch and youth programs headline new agreement which sees pre-season games continue in the capital
ABU DHABI: With New York Knicks orange and Philadelphia 69ers blue splashed across the stands, fans streamed into Etihad Arena on Yas Island last October to watch two of the National Basketball Association’s most well-known franchises take center stage.
The sell-out games were another sign of how far the NBA’s presence in Abu Dhabi and the region has spread, and that footprint expanded further this week when the league and the Department of Culture and Tourism Abu Dhabi confirmed a long-term renewal of their collaboration.
The extension will see pre-season NBA Global Games continue in the emirate alongside the launch of a new NBA Global Academy and expanded youth and fan programming across the UAE.
The agreement formalizes what has increasingly become a year-round NBA presence in the capital. Since the first Abu Dhabi Games in 2022, a stream of high-profile NBA teams has played preseason games in the city — Milwaukee and Atlanta that year, followed by Dallas and Minnesota in 2023, reigning champions Boston Celtics and Denver Nuggets in 2024, and the New York Knicks and Philadelphia 76ers last October — bringing MVP talent such as Giannis Antetokounmpo and Joel Embiid alongside championship rosters and perennial contenders.
Away from the bright lights of Etihad Arena, the NBA’s footprint has filtered into schools and community gyms across the UAE capital. The multiyear collaboration with DCT Abu Dhabi has gone far beyond preseason games, encompassing the Jr. NBA/Jr. WNBA Abu Dhabi League, fan festivals, player appearances and community clinics designed to promote healthy lifestyles and introduce young people to the fundamentals of the sport — an approach that research firm YouGov says has lifted basketball participation in the UAE by 60 percent and expanded the league’s local fanbase by more than 25 percent since the annual preseason visits began.
An NBA Global Academy will be launched in Abu Dhabi and will serve as the global hub for the league’s academy network, operating year-round as an elite basketball development and academic program for top high-school-age student-athletes from the UAE, the Middle East and beyond. The academy will include elite development programming for up to 20 local boys, basketball development activities for local girls and residential programming for up to 24 male prospects from the rest of the world.
Abu Dhabi will also host two annual youth tournaments under the expanded agreement, following the 2025 NBA Academy Showcase at NYU Abu Dhabi from Sept. 25 to 27, which featured elite teenage prospects from NBA Academy Africa in Senegal, IMG Academy in the United States, INSEP in France and Basketball Australia’s Centre of Excellence.
Mohamed Khalifa Al-Mubarak, chairman of DCT Abu Dhabi, said the renewal reflected the emirate’s long-term ambitions in sport and youth development.
“Extending our partnership with the NBA further strengthens Abu Dhabi’s position as the new home of basketball in the Middle East and reinforces our commitment to our youth,” he said.
“The establishment of the NBA Global Academy in Abu Dhabi will open pathways for Emirati and UAE-based athletes, coaches and sports professionals to learn from the world’s best, while our long-term hosting of the NBA Global Games will inspire the next generation.
“Beyond bringing world-class sporting events to our capital, the NBA’s youth programs and grassroots initiatives encourage healthy, active lifestyles and connect our residents to the universal values of sport.”
From the NBA’s perspective, the UAE capital has become one of its most significant overseas platforms.
NBA Deputy Commissioner and Chief Operating Officer Mark Tatum said the collaboration had been instrumental in growing basketball participation and fandom in the UAE and across the Middle East.
“We look forward to building on those efforts in the years to come, including through the launch of an NBA Global Academy that will help develop elite-level players from the region and around the world,” he added.
The extended collaboration will also expand youth development programming that has already reached more than 20,000 boys and girls since 2022, with plans to grow the existing Jr. NBA and Jr. WNBA leagues in Abu Dhabi and Al-Ain to six later this year and 12 by 2028.
The commercial side of the relationship is also evolving, with Experience Abu Dhabi remaining the NBA’s official tourism partner across the Middle East, China and Europe while the deal now extends into Africa, Asia, Canada and Latin America.
With more teams expected, academy graduates emerging and junior leagues expanding, Abu Dhabi’s role in the NBA’s international strategy appears set to deepen. Additional details about future NBA preseason games in Abu Dhabi, including the schedule and participating teams, are expected to be announced later.
