The Sharjah Cricket Stadium, in the emirate of Sharjah in the United Arab Emirates, was built in the early 1980s and very quickly became a regular home for tournaments as the popularity of one-day cricket exploded following India's World Cup win in 1983. Between 1984 and 2003 the ground hosted 198 ODIs , attracting good crowds, mainly from the area's large Asian expat population. It also hosted Masters (veterans) events and other second-string tournaments. All were played under the auspices of The Cricketers Benefit Fund Series (CBFS)" which had been established in 1981 by Abdul Rahman Bukhatir, and whose main aim was to honour cricketers of the past and present generations from India and Pakistan, with benefit purses in recognition of their services to the game of cricket. The stadium initially started with a few limited seats and very modest facilities but by 1997 had a 27,000 capacity and floodlights.