90% of the UAE’s 250,000+ construction workers are expats from India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh, counties that share a huge passion for cricket.

Our mission was to provide all-encompassing refreshment to the most deserving people in the world. We created a cricket tournament, modelled on the World Cup, to turn these humble labourers into Cricket Stars.

The trials and preliminary rounds of the tournament took place within the labour camps themselves. The semi finals and finals took place in a special event at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium.

The teams were treated like International cricket stars by tournament organisers and fans alike. All members of the winning team were given an air ticket to go home on holiday and visit their families.

The initial team trials were only intended to last a few weeks, but the over 40,000 entries greatly exceeded expectations and forced an extension of the campaign.

The labourers that qualified for the team encouraged their friends to support the tournament, while those that trialed but were not selected also came to support those who were. Thanks to the spirit of community, competition and belonging, labourers who had not entered also turned out in force to support their camp.

Because these men work so hard, trials, practices and matches were held at all hours of the day and night.

Attendance at the finals was higher than at each day of the test match between Pakistan and England, held only a few months later.From the client’s point of view, this was entirely about giving back to hard working people who are often ignored. As a result, the campaign was an unprecedented success.

For the first 3 months of Sprite Cricket Stars, trials were held every day at 8 of the biggest labour camps in the UAE.

The 8 teams involved were Dutco Dominators, Dulsco Blasters, ETA Hot Shots, Arabtec Cutters, Al Habtoor Yorkers, Al Jabber Blazers, Futtaim Flyers and Naboodah Bouncers. They represented over 250,000 construction workers from the subcontinent.

During and after this period, practices took place late at night after work and continued into the morning. The final squads, consisting of 20 players, then all played in a round robin tournament to determine the 4 semi final teams.

It all culminated in the semi finals and finals of the Sprite Cricket Stars, held in a special event at the new $100m Dubai International Cricket Stadium, on 16th September 2011.