With the growth and popularity of basketball in the UAE on the rise, Dubai Tribe are at the forefront of developing the sport at the youth level.
They’re the only expat basketball club that’s registered as an entity and are part of the Dubai Amateur Basketball Association – the only non-profit basketball organisation registered with the UAE government.
“We’ve accomplished a lot of firsts in the whole basketball community here,” said Dubai Tribe founder, general manager and lead instructor Saeed Al Naji.
“As a not-for-profit, we don’t have financial obligations to anybody with regard to revenue and profit maximisation. This allows us to heavily subsidise costs for players.
"We can help control the costs for travel, gear, facilities and that kind of stuff because we’re not worried about putting extra money in an owner’s pocket since we don’t have one. This also allows us to go after the best quality products and services, not just affordable ones.”
When the club was founded in 2007, Dubai Tribe launched the UAE’s first expat men’s semi-professional team, which competed locally against Emirati clubs and in international exhibition events. Now, however, Dubai Tribe’s focus is squarely on the youth level.
Their Youth Elite Development Programme searches for the best young boys between the ages of 14 and 18 to put them through intense basketball development.
“Our goal is to find athletes who have the ability to play basketball at the next level, whatever that next level may be, something beyond high school,” said Al Naji.
“It might be university basketball in the UAE, it might be in the US, it might be in Canada, it might be in the Philippines. As long as you’re someone who we believe has a chance to play at a higher level than just high school basketball, we want to work with you and help you develop.”
Dubai Tribe have three teams: U16, U18 and the newly-formed U14. The try-outs to fill the rosters are currently underway for the fall term, which runs from September to mid-November. During the two months, the club trains three times per week for approximately six hours total. They also work on athlete development in partnership with FAST Sports Performance.
The winter term, spanning mid-November to mid-February, scales training back as the majority of kids focus on their high school seasons. Then the programme ramps up again for the spring term from mid-February to the end of June when the players prepare for more competition and also travel for their annual trip abroad to either Europe or the United States.
This past summer, Dubai Tribe took their U16 and U18 teams to Vienna, Austria, and played in a tournament with over 520 teams from 23 countries as the only squad from the Middle East.
Al Naji has a vast background with top-level grassroots basketball from his experience living in Canada while also coaching high school after moving to Dubai 12 years ago and saw a need for a structured developmental programme at the youth level.
“I started realising there are some young, talented kids out here but they’re not getting opportunities for exposure, or even worse, real development at a young age,” said Al Naji.
“They end up being athletes who are streetballers, but no one is really guiding their development on the court, off the court, trying to open up opportunities for scholarships or otherwise.”
Al Naji hopes more young kids will consider Dubai Tribe to raise their game, especially Emiratis who might otherwise only play with the local clubs. Even though try-outs are nearly finished, anyone interested is encouraged to contact the club at [email protected] or visit their Facebook page.
