Dubai: NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball is coming to Dubai in 2021 as Inspirus expands its successful concept of the Belfast Basketball Classic to the UAE. Inspirus Sports, in partnership with Falcon and Associates and the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC), will bring the first-ever ‘Dubai Basketball Classic’ to the state-of-the-art Coca-Cola Arena, Dubai from November 25-27, 2021.
For the first time in NCAA collegiate sports history, a Multi-Team Event (MTE) will take place in Dubai and be broadcast to a global audience. Inspirus previously brought college basketball to Europe with its Belfast Classic played at the SSE Arena in Northern Ireland.
Organised in partnership with Dubai Sports Council, the 2021 event will feature a high-profile field of eight NCAA Division I programmes in a Multi Team Event (MTE). The eight institutions will compete in two four-team brackets in Dubai, while one early round game will take place in the United States the week prior to the games.
Inspirus Sports, a sports event company based in Northern Ireland, operates premium inspirational sporting events in communities around the world. Inspirus has been working closely with Falcon and Associates and the MAAC to bring this event to Dubai with the goal of showcasing Dubai and its people to viewing audiences around the world and introducing top level intercollegiate basketball to the UAE.
“We are really pleased to add another exciting new event to Dubai’s sports calendar,” Saeed Hareb, General Secretary of Dubai Sports Council (DSC), said.
“This is the first time Dubai will be hosting elite teams from the popular NCAA Division 1 Men’s Basketball and the country’s basketball fans will be waiting with bated breath for the teams to arrive in Dubai for the aptly-named Dubai Basketball Classic,” he added.
“This has been an exciting journey working with our partners Falcon and Associates and the MAAC as, together, we bring the world of NCAA College basketball to the people of Dubai. Our mission is to use the positive impact of sport to encourage generations of people to get involved, whether to improve their own health and well-being, to play, or to simply volunteer in a sports,” Gareth Maguire, Chairman, Inspirus Sports, noted.
Greg Sproule, CEO of Falcon and Associates: “Basketball continues to grow in popularity in Dubai and the rest of the world, and college basketball is to many the most exciting of all. While college basketball is at the core of this event, our commitment to community engagement is significant and it stretches far beyond the three days of competition.”
