(UTV|Dubai) – A total of 10,000 tickets are up for grabs to watch blue-collar workers behind the construction of the Dubai Expo compete in a friendly cricket match, with legendary cricketers Shahid Afridi and Yuvraj Singh in attendance. The event is set to take place this Friday and is the final match of this year’s Expo 2020 Dubai Cricket Tournament.
The initiative, meant to give workers “a fun time”, started off in November with 32 teams.
“Cricket is a huge passion in the region and it means so much to the workers who are involved in the delivery of Expo 2020,” said Dr Rob Cooling, Expo 2020 spokesperson and the vice-president of Health, Safety, Quality and Environment at the expo.
“It’s a really big deal for these teams. As we get closer to the finals, everyone gets increasingly competitive. There’s a lot of excitement among teams because they get to play in a huge stadium, in front of thousands of spectators and with famous cricketers in attendance.
“The Expo 2020 Cricket Tournament is part of our ‘Better Together Strategy’, an over-arching approach to drive continual improvement in health and safety and worker welfare. The tournament is organised as a celebration of everyone working to deliver the 4.38sqkm Expo 2020 site and a thank you for their all hard work.”
Pakistani cricketer Shahid Afridi and Indian cricketer Yuvraj Singh will be mentoring the two teams on the day of the match. They’ll give the workers tips and advice on the game. Prizes await the winning team, best batsman, bowler, man of the match and other titles. (khaleejtimes)