(DUBAI, UAE) August 15, 2024 - Dubai-based Baseball United, the first professional baseball league focused on the Middle East and South Asia, announced BONK DAO, as the Official Presenting Partner for the league’s inaugural 2025 season. In addition to the first season, BONK will also serve as the Presenting Partner for Baseball United’s upcoming national team tournament, the Arab Classic, as well as the region’s first franchise tournament, The Baseball United Cup.

Season One will begin next fall, running from October 23, 2025, to November 23, 2025. The inaugural season will include five Baseball United franchises - the Mumbai Cobras, Karachi Monarchs, Arabia Wolves, Mid East Falcons, and a new Riyadh-based franchise slated to be announced early next year. Each team will play 12 regular season games, culminating with a United Series best-of-three championship featuring the top two teams. Overall, the league will host 33 games in 32 days, an unprecedented sprint of professional baseball games in Dubai.

The Baseball United Cup will take place February 22, 2025, to March 1, 2025, and feature the league’s first four franchises - the Cobras, Monarchs, Wolves, and Falcons - in an eight-day tournament. Teams will compete in a round robin format, followed by the semifinals and finals.

The Arab Classic is BU’s signature event this year, taking place November 7th - 10th, 2024, in Dubai. The event will bring together eight national baseball teams from the region, including India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, and Bangladesh.

BONK will be integrated into all marketing channels for each event, with a full suite of creative and content assets, including venue branding, broadcast segments, social content, and fan experiences. Baseball United will also create a “BONK Zone” for the most passionate and raucous fans to enjoy each game.

“We are very excited to welcome BONK to the Baseball United family,” said Kash Shaikh, Chairman, CEO, and Co-Founder of Baseball United. “Our organizations have a lot in common. BONK’s young journey began around the same time as ours, and, like BU, they’ve been able to quickly create a deep and meaningful impact across the globe. We’ve been inspired by their pace and drawn to their purpose, and we can’t wait to continue building with the BONK ecosystem in the months and years ahead.”

BONK is a leading technology and lifestyle brand with a market cap of nearly $1.5B USD and one of the most engaged communities in Web3. It is one of the top meme coins in the world, and one of only six that are tracked on VanEck’s MarketVector Meme Coin Index. Built on the Solana blockchain, BONK has a global audience of nearly one million users and a presence that spans across more than a dozen Web3 ecosystems.

BONK’s sponsorship of Baseball United builds upon the brand’s portfolio of sports partnerships, including a growing footprint across combat sports and football. The collaboration also represents one of the most significant digital currency sponsorships within sports to date, and one of the largest for professional baseball worldwide.

“We are truly honored to join Baseball United’s historic mission as the Presenting Partner for all 2024 and 2025 events,” said Kadense, Core Contributor at BONK. “We focus on the cross-section of currency and culture, and we truly believe that baseball - an iconic part of many cultures - will be the Middle East and South Asia’s next great sport. We also are big believers in Dubai. Dubai is quickly becoming a lighthouse for crypto innovation, and Baseball United’s year-round presence in this amazing city is another element that inspired this partnership. We can’t wait to connect with the community at the ballpark and soon see BONK products and services offered in Dubai.”

Tickets for the Arab Classic will go on sale in September. Baseball United Cup and Baseball United Season One tickets will be available for VIP and Season Ticket purchases this winter. Fans can join the waitlist at baseballunited.com.

Full game-by-game schedules and venue locations for each of the Baseball United events will be shared in the coming months on BU’s website and social channels.

In addition to Shaikh, Baseball United’s ownership group is comprised of twenty Major League Baseball legends - one of the most prestigious ownership groups in all of professional sports. Baseball icons investing in the new league, including Hall of Famers, Barry Larkin, Mariano Rivera, Adrián Beltré and stars such as Robinson Chirinos, Felix Hernandez, and Robinson Cano.

To learn more about Baseball United, visit baseballunited.com.

To learn more about Bonk, visit bonkcoin.com.

About Baseball United
Baseball United is the first professional baseball league focused on the Middle East and the Indian Subcontinent. Baseball United’s inaugural Showcase event in Dubai was broadcast in 127 countries, reaching 200 million households. Our mission is to inspire one billion new fans to fall in love with baseball. Our ownership group includes award-winning entrepreneur, Kash Shaikh, and 20 baseball legends, including Barry Larkin, Mariano Rivera, Adrián Beltré, Robinson Chirinos, Felix Hernandez, Robinson Cano, Ryan Howard, and Ronald Acuña Jr. 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 innovative game changes, Baseball United is working to create a new future for baseball in one of the fastest growing and most culturally diverse regions in the world.

About Bonk
BONK is a community-driven memecoin launched on the Solana blockchain. It was created to bolster the Solana ecosystem, centered on a cartoon character called “The Dog”, which is a Shiba Inu dog. Its inception was driven by a diverse group of Solana advocates, including DeFi aficionados, artists, and NFT communities, who were united by their support for the network. Launched in the aftermath of the 2022 FTX collapse, BONK emerged at a low point for both Solana’s market sentiment and SOL’s value. The token has become a symbol of solidarity and resilience within the Solana community, bringing excitement back to the blockchain in the depths of the bear market.

Media Contacts:
Faraaz Thaver, Communications Manager, Baseball United
faraaz@baseballunited.com