Dubai is going sports crazy in the month of November with 111 events taking place in the emirate. Of the events on the schedule, 20 are at international level and four are world championships: the 25th Karate World Championships, IBF Bowling World Championships, FIDE World Chess Championship, and cricket’s ICC Men’s Twenty20 World Cup.
This month will also see the highest ranked golfers on the European Tour’s Race to Dubai contest the final tournament of the season, the $9m DP World Tour Championship at Jumeirah Golf Estates from 18-21 November, while the top eight teams from the world of beach soccer will battle on the sands of Kite Beach in the 10th Tecnotree Intercontinental Beach Soccer Cup Dubai.
There is a new addition to Dubai’s cycling calendar – the Giro d’Italia Criterium – a 30-lap short-format race that takes place on 6 November as part of Expo 2020 Dubai.
Karate World Championships
The Hamdan Sports Complex will take centre stage from 16-21 November when it hosts the 25th Karate World Championships. More than 1,200 athletes are expected in Dubai for the event – alongside 1,200 delegates, team officials and technical staff – making the world championships the biggest ever in terms participation.
IBF Bowling World Championships
The top stars of bowling will head to the emirate from 6-26 November for the International Bowling Federation’s World Championships at Dubai Bowling Centre. A total of 512 bowlers from 46 countries have signed up for the championships, with 247 of them competing in the elite Super World Championship (6-15 November), 217 in the Masters World Championship (18-26 November) for the 55 to 65 year olds, and 48 in the Para (wheelchair) World Championship (12-16 November).
The race ends here
Spectators will return for the European Tour’s season-ending DP World Tour Championship where 50 of the highest-ranked players on the Race to Dubai rankings will take on the Earth Course at Jumeirah Golf Estates. The DP World Tour Championship will host the European Disabled Golfers Association (EDGA) Dubai Finale from 19-20 November and Dubai’s golf enthusiasts will also be able to see Asia’s top amateurs in action at the 12th Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship, which will take place at the Dubai Creek Golf and Yacht Club from 3-6 November.
Sport at Expo 2020 Dubai
Expo 2020 Dubai will host the FIDE World Chess Championship 2021 from 24 November to 16 December, where reigning world champion Magnus Carlsen of Norway will defend his crown against Russian challenger Ian Nepomniachtchi. The Hamdan Bin Rashid Masters international chess championship will take place concurrently.
Expo 2020 Dubai will also host the Giro d’Italia Criterium, a new cycling race organised by Dubai Sports Council and RCS Sport with the support of MadeinItaly.gov.it. Some of the world’s top riders will be taking part in the race, including 2021 Giro d’Italia winner Egan Bernal (INEOS Grenadiers); three-time UCI Road Race world champion Peter Sagan (BORA hansgrohe); nine-time Grand Tour stage winner Elia Viviani (Cofidis); 2021 Giro d’Italia winner of the KOM classification Geoffrey Bouchard; and the two-time UCI ITT world champion Filippo Ganna (INEOS Grenadiers), winner of six stages of the Giro d’Italia.
T20 World Cup cricket
The International Cricket Council’s men’s Twenty20 World Cup continues with 17 matches – six in Dubai – taking place this month. This includes the two semi-finals on 10 November (Abu Dhabi) and 11 November (Dubai), before the new T20 world champions are decided at the Dubai International Stadium on 14 November.
Sevens rugby
The Asian qualifiers for the Rugby World Cup Sevens 2022 will take place in Dubai Sports City on 19-20 November, with eight of Asia’s top men and women teams battling for two tickets each to next year’s World Cup. The pool matches will be played on the first day, and the semi-finals and finals on day two. The top two teams from each pool will play in the semi-finals, and the four men’s and women’s finalists will qualify for the Rugby World Cup Sevens 2022 in Cape Town, South Africa.
Other major events
The Dubai Padel Cup will bring 16 of the world’s best padel players, including world No.1 Juan Lebron Chincoa and No.5 Fernando Belasteguin, for three days of competition at the Emirates Towers from 2-4 November, while Ski Dubai at the Mall of the Emirates will host the Para Dubai 2021 World Alpine Skiing Open Asian Cup on 19-20 November.
Other international events taking place in Dubai this month included the Arab Billiards and Snooker Championship from 2-10 November; the West Asia Billiards and Snooker Championship from 13-23 November; and the MMA PaRUS Fight Championship, that will feature two title bouts on a six-card fight night on 6 November, at the open-air events arena of Jumeirah Beach Hotel.