Dubai "is prepared to take the one final step and make a bid to host a major sporting event, possibly an Olympic Games in the near future," according to Alaric Gomes of GULF NEWS. The second Middle East Sports Event Summit "opened on Tuesday." Dubai Sports Council Sports Events Planning Manager Hessa Al Kous said, "Dubai is always up for the challenge. We have hosted some of the biggest sporting events in the past and we have a few more lined up in the future."
The UAE "consolidated its position by hosting one-off events" such as the FINA World Championships, the FIFA Youth World Cup, the FIFA U17 World Cup and the 2009 FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup, to name a few. Al Kous: "The fact remains Dubai is ready for staging any event. We have the infrastructure, transportation and communications. We have the hotels" (GULF NEWS, 6/3). In Dubai, K.R. Nayar wrote local administrators said that UAE cricket "is now ready to host more events of the magnitude of the Indian Premier League." Three top officials "who ensured the successful staging of the UAE leg" of the IPL were invited by the Board of Control for Cricket in India for the final in Bengaluru on Sunday. UAE’s success as the hosts of the IPL "has made it a potential venue for the oncoming Champions League and also a possible India-Pakistan series in 2015" (GULF NEWS, 6/3).
