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Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, September 8:<\/strong>\u00a0Saudi Arabia officially launched the World Cricket Festival (WCF) 2025, its most ambitious sporting and cultural initiative yet. The launch ceremony, hosted at the Radisson Blu Hotel in Riyadh, gathered senior officials, international sporting figures, and industry leaders to unveil the vision behind the landmark event.<\/p>\n Riyadh \u2013 Saudi Arabia\u2019s investment in cricket is part of a wider Vision 2030 strategy to establish the Kingdom as a global hub for sport and entertainment. Significant resources are being directed toward diversifying the economy, engaging youth, and attracting international events. Alongside football, Formula 1, boxing, and tennis, cricket is now a priority \u2014 reflecting both its global reach and its strong connection to the Kingdom\u2019s expatriate community.<\/p>\n Saudi Arabia is preparing for its biggest cricket moment yet. In November 2025, the Kingdom will host the World Cricket Festival (WCF) in Jeddah \u2014 a first-of-its-kind four-day spectacle that combines international cricket with concerts, cultural showcases, and family entertainment.<\/p>\n The Cricket Investment Company (CIC), the commercial arm of the Saudi Arabia Cricket Federation (SACF), has been established to accelerate the development and commercialization of cricket in the Kingdom. CIC will work hand-in-hand with strategic partners like Infinix Holding Ltd to grow the game from the grassroots level, expand participation, and build pathways for local talent to strengthen the national team.<\/p>\n Aligned with Vision 2030, CIC\u2019s mission extends beyond commercial value\u2014it seeks to enhance the quality of life, foster community engagement, and position Saudi Arabia as a rising destination for cricket. As an enabler and strategic partner, CIC is committed to unlocking the sport\u2019s potential while ensuring it leaves a lasting social and cultural impact across the Kingdom.<\/p>\n HRH Prince Saud Bin Meshal Al-Saud, Chairman of SACF, welcomed the partnership:<\/p>\n \u201cThe partnership aligns with our core objectives as a federation. We are working on developing the game at its grassroots levels by creating opportunities, a professional set-up, and a better quality of life for everyone involved in the sport in Saudi Arabia. It is a natural alliance with Vision 2030\u201d<\/p>\n The festival\u2019s centerpiece will be the F2 Double Wicket World Cup, featuring 10 international teams in a unique two-player format. Matches will be fast and unpredictable, with innovations such as the Super Sub rule and the Fireball over, designed to create dramatic highlights for live fans and global streaming audiences. By night, the event will transform into a music and cultural festival with headline performers, making WCF a full \u201cday-and-night\u201d experience.<\/p>\n Financially, WCF is projected to generate SAR 51.6 million in its debut year, with long-term valuation targets beyond SAR 150 million by 2028. More than a tournament, it positions Saudi Arabia as a new home for world cricket \u2014 uniting sport, culture, and commerce on a scale the Kingdom has never seen before.<\/p>\n The partnership between Infinix Holding Ltd and CIC is not limited to the World Cricket Festival. Over the next 18 months, a slate of flagship franchise-based leagues will roll out across Saudi Arabia and the wider GCC, creating a year-round calendar of professional and community events:<\/p>\n Together, these initiatives form a year-round cricket program \u2014 from grassroots participation to global festivals \u2014 ensuring Saudi Arabia is not just hosting one-off spectacles but building a sustainable cricket industry.<\/p>\n Infinix Holding Ltd, through TurboCat Solutions, delivered its first success in February 2025 with the Saudi Foundation Day Cup, in collaboration with Axis United Trading Co. The nine-day T20 tournament was the Kingdom\u2019s first large-scale cricket event, streamed live worldwide and featuring international stars. It proved that cricket can succeed in Saudi Arabia as both a sport and an entertainment product.<\/p>\n Infinix Holding Ltd, led by CEO Waqqas Alvi, built its cricket journey on FIREOX, an activewear and sports equipment brand with a global footprint. Established in 2018, FIREOX has since become a trusted name in performance sportswear, now shipping to 56 countries worldwide. Since 2022, FIREOX has also been the official kit provider of the Saudi national cricket team, cementing its role at the heart of the Kingdom\u2019s cricket story. The brand equips leading teams in Saudi Arabia and Doha, while continuing to expand across the GCC.<\/p>\n From this base, Infinix Holding Ltd is creating a broader cricket economy. Its initiatives include FIRE Set Go (fan engagement and ticketing), CricArabia (regional cricket media), and #BeTheNext (talent discovery) \u2014 programs designed to connect grassroots players with professional pathways and global events.<\/p>\n \u201cFIREOX began as a bold idea and has become a global brand,\u201d said Waqqas Alvi, CEO of Infinix Holding Ltd. \u201cFrom outfitting the Saudi national team to reaching athletes in more than 50 countries, FIREOX is proof that Saudi-led brands can compete globally. Now, with our events and digital platforms, we\u2019re taking the same ambition to cricket itself \u2014 building not just a sport, but a movement.\u201d<\/p>\n If you object to the content of this press release, please notify us at pr.error.rectification@gmail.com. We will respond and rectify the situation within 24 hours.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, September 8:\u00a0Saudi Arabia officially launched the World Cricket Festival (WCF) 2025, its most ambitious sporting and cultural initiative yet. The launch ceremony, hosted at the Radisson Blu […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":57708,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_rishi_post_view_count":58},"categories":[9],"tags":[674],"class_list":["post-57707","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-press-release","tag-pressrelease","rishi-post"],"rishi__cb_customizer_meta":"","comments_count":"0","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/newswiredelhi.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/57707","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/newswiredelhi.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/newswiredelhi.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newswiredelhi.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newswiredelhi.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=57707"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/newswiredelhi.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/57707\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newswiredelhi.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/57708"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/newswiredelhi.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=57707"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newswiredelhi.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=57707"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newswiredelhi.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=57707"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}\n