'Star-studded T10 League will bring more tourists to Abu Dhabi'

Abu Dhabi officials hoped the third season of the T10 League would also draw new tourists to the capital city as cricket is a hugely popular sports among the South Asian expats in the UAE.

"This is not just a sport and entertainment but entails everything needed for the people here and visitors," Saeed Al Saeed, Director of Destination Marketing at the Department of Culture and Tourism - Abu Dhabi, told Khaleej Times at the launch event.

He welcomed cricket fans from all over the world to not only enjoy T10 cricket but also explore the capital city.

"We always had different sports represented with major events in the capital. One sport that needed this kind of exciting, fresh innovative format was cricket. T10 will be a mainstay for Abu Dhabi.

"Hopefully the success of next five years will allow us to take this to even greater heights in future as well. Finally we have something to offer to the cricket community, which is a big part of the population of the UAE," he said and added T10 League will be able to attract visitors from key market such as India and England to Abu Dhabi.

"We hope to attract visitors to come here while also providing an event which is really popular in the UAE because of the nature of the population as well. There will be lot of marketing to promote T10 and Abu Dhabi to wider audience," Saeed added.

Meanwhile, Aref Al Awani, General Secretary, Abu Dhabi Sports Council, said: "Up and down the Abu Dhabi T10 roster you will find world-class talent, big personalities and the best possible ambassadors of the game. We could not be happier at the timing of this partnership to bring the brightest stars in cricket to the UAE, such as Eoin Morgan."

ashwani@khaleejtimes.com