Although the Duplays brand is synonymous with organizing great community sport leagues, we are also proud to have organized sports events and activations for some of the leading global brands. We take delivering branded and sponsored events very seriously as we act as ‘brand guardians’ for the brand activations we run on behalf of our clients. Sometimes our job is to deliver sports events conceived by the client. Sometimes we are asked to develop creative events alongside the client. Browse through some of the branded events we are most proud of below.
2010 | Sharjah
Sharjah Streetball Challenge
DUPLAYS was proud to have organized, alongside the Sharjah Golf and Shooting Club, some of the inaugural streetball tournaments held over the last decade. Some of the best ballers in the UAE were attracted to this gritty showcase of basketball talent. We kept it simple: a parking lot, portable hoops, and chalk lines.
2010-2012 | Jebel Ali, Dubai
VW Junior Masters Football Tournaments
DUPLAYS was proud to be appointed as the preferred organizer for the annual Volkswagen Junior Masters football tournament, held each year in Dubai. 40 teams from around the GCC traveled to compete in what became a centerpiece event for VW as part of their community outreach programme.
2011 | Aspire Academy, Doha
Snickers World’s Longest Football Match
DUPLAYS was asked by our client, Snickers, to organize a sports event that would break a Guinness World Record. We recruited teams from across the GCC by first running a series of remote fitness assessments, followed by flying out winners to Qatar to break the world record. Our world record breaking time? 42 hours, 5 mins.
2011 | Al Wasl Club, Dubai
DBD vs UAE National Basketball Team
DUPLAYS was hired by Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business to help organize a goodwill basketball game between the Duke Blue Devils and the UAE National Team. Arguably some of the best basketball to ever be played in Dubai, it was an amazing night of collegiate starts — and the one and only Coach K. Guest of honor was Doc Rivers.
2011 | Abu Dhabi Corniche
Samsung Masters of the Game
DUPLAYS team in Abu Dhabi was hired by Samsung to deliver ‘Masters of the Game’ — a freestyle football showdown between some of the best freestylers on the planet. Our job was less breaking up football fights but rather how do we deliver an awesome sound, light and skills show for the Abu Dhabi masses.
2011 | Select Indoor Schools, Dubai
Nike 5s Futsal League
DUPLAYS was appointed by Nike’s agency Ogilvey Mather to run a city-wide amaetur futsal league to coincide with Nike’s launch of their new 5-aside apparel campaign. We organized 96 teams to play in a competitive 8-week futsal league across 3 school locations which became the talk of the town. If you weren’t in it, you needed to be!
2012 | Multiple locations, Dubai
P&G Special Olympics
On behalf of Procter & Gamble and Leo Burnett, we organized an awareness campaign for P&G’s support for the Special Olympics. Volunteers applied for the chance to participate in a 36-leg journey across Dubai by different modes of transport to create awareness for children with special needs. The 2-day event had over 150 contenders.
2012 | Burj Khalifa and Burj Al Arab
FIFA Interactive Gaming World Cup
The top 24 gamers in the world of EA SPORTS™ FIFA 12 battled it out across Dubai’s most iconic spots over 3 days. Alfonso Ramos was crowned champ and took home the $20,000 1st place prize in the 2012 FIFA Interactive World Cup Dubai. DUPLAYS organized an incredible adventure for the finalists that included some one-of-a-king gaming sites.
2012 | Yas Island, Abu Dhabi
NBA JamFest
We were tasked by Flash Entertainment to come up with an activation as part of the NBA JamFest roadshop. We organized a 3v3 basketball tournament across boys, girls, mens, womens, and university divisions, including a slam dunk contest. Guest of honor was NBA-great Hakeem Olajuwon, considered one of the greatest basketball players of all time.
2012 | Safa Park, Dubai
Lipton Clear Green Running Club
DUPLAYS helped organize Lipton’s pre-marathon running club, which had running coaches on hand to help Dubai residents get faster and cover more distance ahead of taking on the full marathon or 10km run. Registered users trained with world class trainers for free and were given free Adidas merchandise to take home.
2012 | Dubai Mall Ice Rink, Dubai
Castrol Goal Football 5s Tournament
Hired by Castrol, an official sponsor of the Euro 2012 football competition, DUPLAYS took over Dubai Mall’s ice rink and turned it into 5-aside football arena with multiple pitches. The top futsal teams from UAE and the Middle East including Saudi, Kuwait, Jordan and Lebanon battled it out for a trip to Euro 2012.
2012 | Multiple Beaches, Dubai
Duplays Beach Games
The world has the Olympics for exceptional athletes so we organized the Dubai beach games for the less exceptional athletes that still have that competitive fire! ‘Duplays Beach Games’ became a great sport and social event in the Dubai calendar. Think beach volleyball, ‘beverage’ pong, dodgeball, and flip cup.
2012 | Yas Marina, Abu Dhabi
Abu Dhabi Formula 1 Yacht Hospitality
Using our 45,000 strong database DUPLAYS saw an opportunity to offer high end hospitality on a 155ft yacht for 250 guests at the country’s largest annual sporting event. Both individuals and corporates were entertained on the yacht over 3 days which showcased the F1 from a trackside berth.
2012/13 | Golf & Yacht Clubs, Dubai, UAE
CBI Corporate Golf Tournament
DUPLAYS was proud to partner with Commercial Bank International (CBI) for the Corporate Golf Challenge. Over 300 golfers participated in 3 separate tournaments at the beautiful Emirates Golf Club Dubai and Dubai Creek golf courses to battle it out for prizes and giveaways worth AED 145,000.
2013 | du Forum, Yas Island, Abu Dhabi
Tennis Tournament with Tim Henman
DUPLAYS was hired by Flash Entertainment to organize an amateur tennis event for UAE residents. The winners of the tournament got to enjoy a one-on-one coaching session with former world No. 4 Tim Henman, who gave a master class to the champions based on their performances.
2013 | du Forum, Yas Island, Abu Dhabi
Basketball Tournament with Robert Horry
DUPLAYS was hired by Flash Entertainment to organize an amatuer basketball tournament for UAE residents during the SummerFest Basketball Tournament. Based at the Du Forum participants had an opportunity of a lifetime when they got a chance to enjoy a coaching session with seven-time NBA champion Robert Horry.
2013 | Dubai World Trade Centre
Kobe Bryant ‘Health & Fitness Weekend’
Our client, DMCC, asked us to organize a basketball game where Coach Kobe could put Dubai’s basketball players through their paces. Held at American University of Dubai arena, the late Kobe Bryant showed why he is second to none, both on and off the court. We will forever cherish our memories with you when you came to visit us all in Dubai.
2013 | Habtoor Grand Resort, JBR, Dubai
Nivea Sun Beach Games
Three things that should always go together are Dubai + Sun + Sunblock. Nivea thought so too. We were proud to organize a fun, social, weekend of beach games events for our client, Nivea, one of the worlds leading skin care brands at Jumeirah Beach Residences. The goal was inclusivity. All skills levels (and skin types) were welcome!
2013 | Burj Park, Downtown Dubai
Gillette Football Challenge
DUPLAYS, on behalf of P&G, organized the Gillette Face-2-Face Football Challenge, which started as an online competition for over 500 applicants. The top 40 contestants were then invited from cities around the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia to compete in a physical football challenge with professional Saudi goalkeeper, Waleed Abdullah.
2013 | Dubai Sports World, DWTC, Dubai
Dubai Summer Open Squash Tournament
DUPLAYS imported the same all glass court used in the Canary Wharf Squash Classic in London for the summer long tournament. Over 300 players battled it out to reach the grand finals with a prize fund of AED 20,000. This was the UAE’s official supporting campaign for the “2020 Back the Bid” to get squash voted into the Olympics.
2014 | Jeddah and Riyadh
Mobily Fallah Football 5s
DUPLAYS organized a competitive 5-aside amateur football tournament across Jeddah and Riyadh in Saudi Arabia with our Saudi telecom sponsor Mobily. 206 teams participated across the two cities with one Saudi winner moving on to the World Football Fives Finals hosted at Dubai’s World Trade Centre to compete against 32 nations.
2014 | Al Ghubaiba Metro Station, Dubai
RTA community basketball tournament
On behalf of the Roads & Transportation Authority (RTA) we organized a 3v3 “streetball” weekend tournament as part of their Public Transport Day initiative. Entry fee was a metro ticket stub — proof they had taken the metro to get to our event! Guest of honor was Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (NBA all-time leading scorer).
2014 | Dubai World Trade Centre, Dubai
F5WC – Football 5s World Cup
DUPLAYS co-developed a unique football concept to bring the world’s best amateur football teams to Dubai by first organizing with local country organizers their own respective tournaments. Winning teams from 32 countries were then flown out to Dubai to compete in a World Cup style tournament at Dubai’s World Trade Centre.
2014 | Multiple locations, Dubai
RTA Public Transport Marathon
DUPLAYS worked alongside our client, the Roads & Transportation Authority (RTA), to deliver a scavenger-hunt type event across the city that encouraged participators of all abilities and fitness levels to use the RTA’s public transport system including the Dubai metro, buses and abhras in order to win prizes.
2015 | Hazza Bin Zayed Stadium, Abu Dhabi
U-17s Football Competition
The Hazza Bin Zayed Under 17s Football Competition brought together junior teams from 6 continents. A yearly event, these teams competed in televised games over a 10 day period and a round Robin format. Our scope included organizing this accredited event and all related travel logistics for over 300 international players, coaches and media.
2016 | Koora Dome, Al Wasl Club, Dubai
Ronaldinho Football Academy Launch
It’s not everyday that you get approached by the team behind Ronaldhino to be the first sports company to start up his namesake football academy. Since 2016, DUPLAYS has been a proud partner of Ronaldinho, where our mission is to bring the joy of football to other kids in Dubai, and instill the same love for the game that Ronaldinho always played with!
2017, 2018 | Al Nasr Club, Dubai
Mason Plumlee Youth Basketball Camp
DUPLAYS partnered with Duke Blue Devils standout and NBA star Mason Plumlee to host over 75 youngsters to participate in his inaugural basketball camp right here in Dubai! Mason and 4 top US coaches flew in from the US to conduct high-intensity, drill based training. Participants improved on their footwork, ball handling, shooting, defence and passing skills.
2019 | Al Nasr Club, Dubai
Swyp Beach Football Tournament
DUPLAYS teamed up with Swyp mobile (part of Etisalat Group) to bring an awesome beach football tournament to Dubai and its residents. Duplays was responsible for site selection and delivery of a fantastic event.
