Club of the Week: Ball Above All Dubai – Compete with the elite

Jay Asser 08:48 29/10/2015
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  • Money shot: Ball Above All sees teams compete for prize money.

    Basketball in the UAE is still a sport under development, with structure and organisation needed to expand the game.

    Belal Abiad is doing everything he can to benefit the cause through Ball Above All Dubai, a social basketball movement.

    Since starting in 2013, Ball Above All specialises in organising leagues and tournaments, along with pick-up games and coaching for players.

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    At the moment, it is all run by Abiad, from the logistics of scheduling games to running the website and everything in between.

    Despite putting in hours upon hours on top of his day job, Abiad is more than happy to fill a need for the region. His passion for the game stems from his own basketball background. 

    The Australian-born Lebanese, who has played professionally in Lebanon and semi-professionally in Australia, initially started Ball Above All’s concept Down Under as a university student in 2002.

    What made his concept different, however, was rewarding prize money to the winning teams instead of a standard trophy.

    The league continues to run in Australia, but Abiad has now brought his tried-and-tested approach to the Middle East with what he believes is the only running league for expats catering to the elite level.

    “I was pretty much bored from the social basketball system. It’s not really a pro level, but it’s not really a low level,” Abiad said.

    “The people that used to play pro and still wanted to play or high-level players, there wasn’t any options for them and the level of competition provided wasn’t to their needs.”

    Join the movement: Basketball is developing and growing in Dubai.

    The leagues are now in their fourth season, with the Elite League Division I running at Al Sufouh Secondary School on Fridays and Saturdays and the Semi-Elite Corporate League taking place at Raffles World Academy on Wednesdays.

    In total, Ball Above All currently has 18 teams competing for a prize of Dh8,000 in Division I and Dh4,000 in the Semi-Elite Corporate League.

    Aside from the leagues, pick-up games are also offered for any player, no matter the level, age or gender. 

    The sessions, which are held on Tuesdays at GEMS Wellington International School and on Sundays at Raffles World Academy, are limited to 15 people on a first-come, first-serve basis by contacting Abiad at [email protected].

    Coaching is still to come on a more regular basis, but Abiad’s ultimate aspiration is to form a pro league for expats down the road.

    With his passion and the impact he’s had on the basketball community in a short period of time, there’s no reason why Abiad can’t aim big.

    “Not many people in Dubai do it for the passion, they do it for the money. With me, it’s more about the passion,” he said.

    “I want it to grow and reach a level where it can compete with the pro league here.”

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