Little League World Series (Middle East-Africa Region)

The Middle East–Africa Region was one of the eight "international" (non-U.S.) regions that participated in the Little League World Series from 2008 to 2012. The Arabian-American Little League in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia won each of the three MEA championships until 2011 when the Reverend John Foundation Little League from Kampala, Uganda won the tournament, however the team from Uganda was not able to participate after their visa applications to enter the United States were denied,^[1] and Dhahran was invited to participate in their place.^[2]

In 2012, a team from Lugazi, Uganda, won the tournament, to become the first African team to compete in the Little League World Series. Not all the players were able to make the trip, due to costs. Traditionally, the team practiced barefoot, but Little League World Series supporters provided the team with baseball cleats. Justine Makisimu had the first African base hit. As popular as this team became, they were not one of the top contenders in the Little League World Series. Uganda lost to Panama 9–3, and Mexico 12–0, eliminating them in two games. However, they beat Oregon, 3–2, in a consolation game.^[3]^[4]

Prior to 2008, Middle Eastern and African teams competed in either the Europe/Middle East/Africa region (EMEA) or the Transatlantic region. The Transatlantic and EMEA regions were geographically identical. Leagues from the Transatlantic region generally consisted of children and other dependents of American expatriates, typically Armed Forces personnel, international organization members, and oil company workers (such as the team representing the Saudi Aramco Residential Camp in Dhahran). The leagues within the EMEA region consisted of players native to the league's own country. In practice, however, only European teams competed in the EMEA region, as no teams from the Middle East or Africa ever competed for the regional championship.

The region was disbanded following the 2012 LLWS due to a major reorganization triggered by Little League's announcement that Australia would receive an automatic berth beginning with the 2013 LLWS. As a result of this announcement:^[5]

African countries will now be placed in the Europe Region, which will be renamed the Europe and Africa Region.
Middle Eastern countries will become part of the former Asia-Pacific Region, which will be renamed the Asia–Pacific and Middle East Region. Israel and Turkey, traditionally considered part of the Middle East, were not part of the MEA Region; they were in the former Europe Region because of their membership in the European zone of the International Baseball Federation. Those two countries will remain in the renamed Europe and Africa Region.

Regional championship

The list below lists each country's participant in the MEA Little League Region Tournament. That year's winner is indicated in green.

Year	Kuwait	Saudi Arabia	South Africa	Uganda	United Arab Emirates	Qatar
2008	Kuwait LL Kuwait	Arabian American LL Dhahran	No representative	Rev. John Foundation LL Kampala	Dubai LL Dubai	No representative
2009	Kuwait LL Kuwait	Arabian American LL Dhahran	No representative	No representative	Dubai LL Dubai	No representative
2010	Kuwait LL Kuwait	Arabian American LL Dhahran	Cape Town LL Cape Town	Rev. John Foundation LL Kampala	Dubai LL Dubai	No representative
2011	Kuwait LL Kuwait	Arabian American LL Dhahran	Kwa Zulu Natal BB Association LL Durban	Rev. John Foundation LL Kampala^[a]	Dubai LL Dubai	No representative
2012	Kuwait LL Kuwait	Arabian American LL Dhahran	No representative	Lugazi LL Lugazi	Dubai LL Dubai	Qatar LL Doha

LLWS results

As of the 2012 Little League World Series.

Year	Champion	City	LLWS	Record
2008	Arabian American LL	Dhahran	First Round	0–3
2009	Arabian American LL	Dhahran	First Round	1–2
2010	Arabian American LL	Dhahran	Pool C Fourth Place	0–3
2011	Arabian American LL^[a]	Dhahran	Round 2	1–2
2012	Lugazi LL	Lugazi	Round 1	1–2

Notes

^a Kampala, Uganda won the regional championship in 2011, but did not participate in the Little League World Series when their visas to enter the United States were denied. Dhahran, Saudi Arabia was invited to participate in their place.^[1]

References

^ ^a ^b Communications Division (July 22, 2011). "Visa Applications Denied for Little League Team from Uganda". Little League. Archived from the original on October 12, 2012. Retrieved July 30, 2011.
^ Communications Division. "Arabian-American Little League of Dhahran, Saudi Arabia, to Receive Berth in Little League Baseball World Series". Little League. Archived from the original on October 12, 2012. Retrieved August 2, 2011.
^ Kerber, Fred. "Big cheers, then defeat, for Uganda at LLWS". New York Post. Retrieved 19 August 2012.
^ Armas, Genaro C. "Uganda Eliminated at Little League World Series". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved 19 August 2012.
^ "Regions Realigned for 2013: Australia to Play in Little League Baseball World Series" (Press release). Little League Baseball. August 29, 2012. Archived from the original on September 23, 2012. Retrieved September 17, 2012.

External links

EMEA Homepage

[Uganda-1] Communications Division (July 22, 2011). "Visa Applications Denied for Little League Team from Uganda". Little League. Archived from the original on October 12, 2012. Retrieved July 30, 2011.

[2] Communications Division. "Arabian-American Little League of Dhahran, Saudi Arabia, to Receive Berth in Little League Baseball World Series". Little League. Archived from the original on October 12, 2012. Retrieved August 2, 2011.

[3] Kerber, Fred. "Big cheers, then defeat, for Uganda at LLWS". New York Post. Retrieved 19 August 2012.

[4] Armas, Genaro C. "Uganda Eliminated at Little League World Series". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved 19 August 2012.

[5] "Regions Realigned for 2013: Australia to Play in Little League Baseball World Series" (Press release). Little League Baseball. August 29, 2012. Archived from the original on September 23, 2012. Retrieved September 17, 2012.

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