ICC Champions Trophy 2025: Why UAE with no cricketing history invests in cricket infra

India has had some great memories of playing cricket in the UAE. Sharjah used to be a regular fixture, especially with souring relations with Pakistan, then the subcontinent’s other cricketing superpower. Started off in the mid-80s as the cricketers’ benefit tournament, the name of the founder Abdul Rehman Bukhatir was a household name in the subcontinent. 

But the betting scandal that broke the back of international cricket also bent the Sharjah leg out of shape and floodlights began to dim. The betting scam was such a tectonic shock that the Indian government formally banned the national team from playing there.

Top facilities in UAE

Over time, the crowds started getting live cricket again in UAE, thanks mainly to Pakistan's domestic security issues and the border tensions between Delhi and Islamabad. The biggest boost probably came in 2021, when part of the IPL was moved to UAE. Despite no spectators, the Emirates Cricket Board (ECB – not be confused with the England and Wales Cricket Board) is estimated to have made as much as $25 million from that tournament. The latest is the ICC Champions Trophy, which is being played in Dubai’s top-of-the-line facility.

Now, the UAE has five top-rated stadiums and as many as a dozen grounds. The International Cricket Council (ICC) is also now based in Dubai, having given up its traditional home in London. The question that arises is: why does the UAE, which itself has no history of playing cricket, invest so much in cricket infrastructure? Come to think of it, the UAE is hardly considered a sports-oriented country. But there is a thought-out strategy behind its investments in sports.

Sports investments & returns

According to the Dubai government, the sports sector has contributed more than four billion AED annually (2021 figures), which amounts to more than $1 billion. While no official figures are available indicating the investment made, figures range up to $10 billion in the last decade and more is coming shortly. The Dubai Sports Council’s 2021 figures say 20,000 people are employed in the sports sector, giving services to more than 1.5 million people engaging in sporting and physical activities. The Emirates have invested millions in sports clubs and title championships across categories and host hundreds of international events, all of which bring in money. Given this return on investments, it only makes sense for the UAE to get up to speed with sports.

As for cricket, it’s been one of the two top sports on the popularity charts in the UAE, beaten only by football. Almost 30% of the UAE’s population is Indian or of Indian origin, so the money stakes in cricket are also very high. According to Statista’s market report, the UAE stands to make close to $45 million in just 2025 from cricket being played in the Emirates. That number will continue to grow as digital and broadcasting rights along with ticket sales increase. 

For the UAE, which was once seen as a ‘call a friend’ option when the cricketing world, especially in the subcontinent, couldn’t find answers to its problems, it has been a quick ride up the sporting escalator as a preferred destination for some of the high-profile tournaments in the world. And the sweet spot of this love affair between the Gulf and cricket is money, and a whole lot of it.

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