Dubai wants to get in on the college basketball tournament fun.

In the wake of the Players Era men's tournament expanding to 18 teams and beyond, Dubai plans to stage a new early-season tourney called the Royal Palm Invitational in November 2026, CBS Sports reported Thursday.

The report said multiple power-conference teams "are expected to be involved." St. John's coach Rick Pitino told the New York Post that tournament organizers approached him about participating but St. John's did not have interest.

Reports did not say who, specifically, was behind the event. Dubai is a large and massively wealthy city on the Persian Gulf.

It is believed that the tournament would pay teams for their participation, following the example of the Players Era, which debuted in 2024 as a tournament that p

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