49ers Plant Roots in the UAE with Hopes of Becoming a Global Team - As-salamu alaykum
As-salamu alaykum - When it was revealed earlier this year that three NFL teams had gained marketing rights to promote American football in the UAE, Dustin Cherniawski was quietly hoping one would reach out first.
Dustin, a former pro from Canada who had been running the country’s grassroots competition since 2011, had moved to Dubai after winning the Canadian Football League with the Saskatchewan Roughriders, looking for a new chapter.
“I decided to call it a career and go somewhere exciting, so I ended up in the UAE,” he said. “I wanted to step away from football a bit. I’d studied finance and commercial real estate, and thought: Dubai's the place for me.”
Needing some sport when he arrived, he went searching for a rugby club but instead saw an advert for American football players and an invite to a training session in Safa Park.
“To be honest, it wasn’t great at first,” he admits about the early days of the sport here. “I said, ‘Alright, I’ll bring a whistle and some cones, and I’ll coach you guys.’ ”
Those 12 people at the park grew to 60. In 2011 he launched the Emirates American Football League; by the end of season one there were 180 players, and by season four about 460 people playing over 100 tackle games a year.
After Covid they introduced flag football - the non-contact version - and participation has roughly doubled almost every season since. Today there are 14 flag teams across Dubai and Abu Dhabi.
This year they also formed an official affiliation with the San Francisco 49ers.
NFL clubs bid for rights to market the game in new territories. The 49ers, already active in places like Mexico and the UK, were awarded UAE rights along with the LA Rams and Washington Commanders as of April 1 under the NFL’s Global Market Programme.
“We were hoping for one in particular, and sure enough the phone rang,” Dustin said. “They said, ‘We’d love to come out to the Middle East.’”
He was particularly excited because the 49ers are known for community work. If a team would commit properly, he felt it would be them.
“They seemed intent on coming in meaningfully,” he said. “They quickly asked us, ‘Tell us everything we don’t know about football in the Middle East.’”
Together they drew up a plan and settled on focusing on schools, since growth is limited by the number of coaches. Going into schools is a major way to expand.
The 49ers have big ambitions - while the Dallas Cowboys are called “America’s team,” San Francisco hopes one day to be seen as a “world’s team.”
Their regional strategy is varied: they’ve launched Arabic media channels with about 20,000 followers so far, focusing on education and experience rather than heavy statistics. They’ve worked with local venues to host match watch gatherings at times more suitable for UAE viewers.
This week a delegation from the 49ers Foundation ran coach education sessions on flag football for PE teachers from several schools across the UAE, concentrating on grassroots development first. If the programme grows, there’s even the possibility down the line of an in-season NFL game being held in Abu Dhabi.
“The long-term thinking mirrors what we do back in the States,” said Justin Prettyman, executive director of the 49ers Foundation. “For decades we’ve worked in schools to get teachers and students excited about a free offering that keeps kids active. If they want more, there are partners and leagues for them to join.”
“The aim is to spread the game. We know what sports can do for communities. The kids have fallen in love with it quickly. The potential is huge.”
May Allah bless efforts that bring healthy activity and strong community ties.
https://www.thenationalnews.co