With the Indian Premier League (IPL) reportedly generating huge revenue for UAE’s Gross Domestic Product, the Emirates Cricket Board (ECB) is aiming for more high profile tournaments involving India to be staged here in the future.
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), through a release, has revealed that the 20 matches of the 2014 Indian Premier League (IPL) that was played here had contributed Rs 250 crore (Dh147.50 million) to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of the UAE. This was based on a study undertaken by audit, tax and advisory services firm KPMG’s Sports Advisory Group on behalf of the BCCI.
Anurag Thakur, the BCCI secretary, said: “The BCCI’s wish was to play as much as possible of the 2014 Pepsi IPL season at home. Once it was clear that we needed to shift the first 20 matches out of India, our team along with IMG, the Emirates Cricket Board and the three stadiums in the UAE worked tirelessly to relocate these matches to the UAE. It is staggering to think that the Pepsi IPL generated five per cent of the total growth in the GDP of the UAE during that 15-day period,”.
Speaking to Gulf News, David East, Chief Executive Officer of the ECB, said: “It is a staggering figure and that it generated so much revenue from a 15-day event reveals how powerful the IPL is as an event and also how popular cricket is in this region.”
The study also estimated that the matches generated an increase in the economic activity in UAE to close to Rs 450 crore (Dh264.70 million) .
“We are thankful to BCCI for having selected UAE to host the IPL as it generated jobs for a lot of people during that period. Many people from different parts of the region too came into the UAE to watch the event, which we successfully hosted. We are in talks with BCCI for many more such events in future though we are right now not in a position to reveal anything as it is only at a discussion stage,” added East, who is hopeful that the India-Pakistan series may be held here in December.
“It will be really exciting if the India-Pakistan series is held in the UAE during December. These two nations have not played their bilateral series for some time and I am sure it will bigger than the impact that was generated here during the IPL.”
The first half of the IPL last year was held in the UAE due to the matches coinciding with the 2014 general elections in India held to constitute the 16th Lok Sabha. India-Pakistan series is likely to be held here as it is Pakistan’s home series and cricketing nations are yet to tour Pakistan due to security threats. All three venues in the UAE - Abu Dhabi Zayed Cricket Stadium, Dubai International Stadium and Sharjah Cricket Stadium were packed to the brim during IPL with over 250,000 watching the action live at these venues.
