In a shocking turn of events, the defending West Asia Premiership champions, Dubai Tigers, have announced their withdrawal from the 2024/25 Gulf rugby season.

The decision comes after the club lost 22 first-team players over the summer, severely impacting their ability to compete at the Premiership level.

The Tigers have seen a mass exodus of players, with some joining other clubs, others leaving the UAE, and several sidelined due to injuries. Despite exploring various options internally, the club has determined that it is not feasible to field a competitive and safe squad for the upcoming season.

After discussions between the Rugby Club Consortium (RCC) and Dubai Tigers’ management, it was concluded that the team simply cannot participate in the West Asia Premiership this year. As a result, all scheduled Premiership fixtures against the Tigers will be marked as byes.

In related news, RAK Rugby has also withdrawn from Division 2 due to an insufficient number of registered players. This means that any Division 2 games involving RAK will also be marked as byes.

The RCC is currently updating the season schedule to reflect these changes.

This announcement is a significant blow to the Gulf rugby scene, and fans will surely feel the absence of the reigning champions.

Stay tuned to Yalla Rugby for further updates.