UAE University Games Season 2 — Social Media & Content Production

Turning a tournament into a year-round digital community

Client: solutions+, a Mubadala company · Industry: Sports & Education (government and semi-government) · Location: United Arab Emirates · Season: October 2025 – March 2026

The Games are delivered in partnership with the Ministry of Sports, solutions+, Abu Dhabi Entertainment and the UAE Universities Sports Federation. Naqsh Media delivered the social media strategy, content production and community management for Season 2 as a delivery partner to solutions+.

The challenge

The UAE University Games bring together student athletes from universities across the country. The competition itself was strong — its digital presence was not. Coverage lived and died with the fixture list, and once a season ended the audience went quiet.

Strategy

One objective: make the Games a page people follow all year, not an event they remember for two weeks. Every athlete, team, result and moment became content, with real-time match coverage combined with short-form storytelling and direct community interaction. Season targets were set against Season 1 baselines of 300,000 reach, 12 million impressions and 5 million video views.

• Grow social following and brand awareness
• Build a genuine university sports community
• Increase reach and content visibility
• Drive engagement through relevant, interactive content
• Put athletes, teams and universities at the centre of the story
• Create natural, non-intrusive space for sponsors and partners

Creative approach

• Match highlights and best moments
• Reels and short-form video
• Player and MVP features
• Athlete and team stories
• Interviews and behind-the-scenes content
• Interactive Stories and community posts
• Awards and season-recognition content
• Sponsor integrations and branded content

Production and execution

A five-month competitive season structured across five phases, with a winter break and a Ramadan pause. Coverage ran on Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, X and YouTube, with paid media amplification across four platforms alongside organic reach and university reposts.

Scale

• Five-month season, five phases, playoffs and finals in March 2026
• Five platforms: Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, X, YouTube
• Paid media across Meta, TikTok, Google and X: AED 79,200

Planning an event, a season or a content programme of this scale? See our event management services in Dubai and video production services, or contact the team.

Measured against season targets

Targets for Season 2 were set at the start of the season against Season 1 baselines of 300,000 reach, 12 million impressions and 5 million video views.

• Video views — 6M+ against a 5M target. Exceeded.
• Engagement rate — 2.8% against a 2.1% target. Exceeded.
• Impressions — +33% against a +30% target. Exceeded.
• Follower growth — +35% against a +40% target.
• Reach — +24% against a +30% target.

Three of five season targets exceeded. Total paid media across Meta, TikTok, Google and X was AED 79,200 — the 6M+ views were delivered on that spend combined with organic reach and university reposts.

The change that mattered most was structural. The Games stopped being an event people remembered for two weeks and became a page people followed through the off-season.

• Social media strategy
• Content production and creative direction
• Photography and videography
• Reels and short-form video editing
• Community management
• Sponsor and branded content integration
• Paid media planning and amplification