Dubai, an emirate within the United Arab Emirates, has shot onto the world stage in the last decade or so due to its large construction projects, ambitious sporting infrastructure, and ultra-modern cosmopolitan environment. A sports tour to the Golden City is a great opportunity to visit somewhere unique and play competitive sport, whether it’s football, cricket, rugby or netball. There are plenty of schools and clubs in Dubai that are keen to welcome touring teams.
An upcoming sporting city
Dubai is growing into a formidable sporting city. Football and cricket are the most popular team sports in the Emirate, with cricket closely followed by Dubai’s large expatriate populations from India, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, England, Australia and South Africa. The International Cricket Council (ICC) is head quartered in Dubai. In addition, Dubai hosts the Dubai Sevens international tournament every year, which is part of the IRB Sevens World Series.
The emirate hosted Sportaccord 2010, showcasing its sporting infrastructure to the world, and is currently focussing on a bid for the 2024 Olympic Games. Its sports infrastructure is second to none, making it a fantastic sports tour destination, and the recently built $4 billion Dubai Sports City development contains facilities for sports including cricket, football, athletics and field hockey.