Karachi, PAKISTAN (May 30, 2023) - Baseball United, the first-ever professional baseball league focused on the Middle East and Indian Subcontinent, announced today that Karachi, Pakistan was awarded the second franchise in league history. The new franchise – also the first professional baseball team in Pakistan’s history - will compete with Baseball United’s recently announced team from India, the Mumbai Cobras.

The team will be called the Karachi Monarchs, with both the Karachi “K” and a bejeweled crown serving as its primary brand marks. The Monarchs name honors Karachi’s leadership role as Pakistan’s industrial, economic, and financial capital, while also paying homage to the city’s passionate love for baseball’s bat and ball counterpart: cricket. The Karachi Kings are one of the founding franchises of the Pakistan Super League, the nation’s premier cricket league.

Monarchs was also the moniker of one of the United States’ most successful professional baseball teams of all-time. The Kansas City Monarchs won 12 Negro League titles - most of which came before Major League Baseball’s integration - behind the star power of baseball legends and Hall of Famers such as Satchel Paige, Ernie Banks, and Jackie Robinson.

“It’s an honor to welcome the great city of Karachi into the Baseball United family,” said Kash Shaikh, President, CEO, and Co-Owner of Baseball United. “This city is both historic, and forward-looking. It’s the commercial, cultural, and cosmopolitan heartbeat of Pakistan. It’s as large as New York City but has a median age that’s fifteen years younger. And those young people love their sports. Our Baseball United team is so excited about the opportunity to connect with all of them as we work to inspire more and more Pakistanis to fall in love with the game of baseball.”

Karachi is the 12th largest city in the world, with a metropolitan area of nearly 20 million people. Like Mumbai, it sits along the Arabian Sea, and is the country’s main seaport.

The Karachi Monarchs and Mumbai Cobras will compete against each other, as well as two other soon-to-be-named professional baseball franchises at Baseball United’s Dubai Showcase in November of this year. The Monarchs and Cobras are projected to be the league’s biggest rivals, following in the footsteps of the Pakistani and Indian cricket teams that regularly draw hundreds of millions of viewers to their international matches.

“In the United States, we have the Yankees versus the Red Sox,” said John Miedreich, Executive Vice President of Baseball Operations and Co-Owner, Baseball United. “In South Asia, they have India versus Pakistan. We’ve seen the passion and pageantry that surrounds these nations’ cricket matches. Now, we can’t wait to see all that drama unfold on the baseball diamond.”

Baseball United will name the Monarchs’ Honorary GM and Manager in the coming days. The two additional Baseball United Showcase franchises will be named over the next two months. Following the announcements of all four franchises, Baseball United will conduct its first-ever draft, selecting Showcase players from its official Player Pool.

The Karachi franchise announcement comes on the heels of Baseball United’s recently inked partnership with Pakistan Federation Baseball, the country’s governing body for the sport, and the most successful baseball federation within South Asia. The agreement will enable the two organizations to jointly grow the game of baseball across Pakistan and within Pakistani communities worldwide.

To learn more about the Karachi Monarchs, visit their Baseball United team page, and connect with the team on social media.

About Baseball United
Baseball United is the first-ever professional baseball league focused on the Middle East and the Indian Subcontinent, beginning play November 2023 in Dubai, UAE. Our mission is to inspire one billion new fans to fall in love with baseball. The ownership group includes award-winning business leaders and inspiring baseball legends, including Mariano Rivera, Barry Larkin, Adrián Beltré, and Felix Hernandez. In addition to our professional league, the Baseball United ecosystem spans youth development, federation partnerships, media and content production, merchandise, and non-profit outreach. With over 30 nationalities represented on our team rosters and a new suite of entertainment-based game changes, Baseball United is working to create a new future for baseball in one of the fastest growing and most culturally rich regions in the world.

Media Contacts:
Allison Baker, VP BSB Group International – allison@bsbgroupintl.com, 513.607.0911