PIF’s plan to dominate football doesn’t stop with luring big stars like Cristiano Ronaldo and Karim Benzema to the Saudi Pro League 🔎 Big Read by GeorgeRSimms
Four clubs have been taken over by significant Saudi companies. Aramco, the state’s oil institution, already a key sponsor of Formula 1 and cricket, have purchased Al-Qadsia, the team based in Saudi Arabia’s oil-producing region. Neom, the company tasked with building a “smart city” from scratch in the nation’s north west, have bought the club closest to their site. As with everything else, this has been meticulously thought through.
The other eight teams are open for investment, with plans for the sales to be completed by the end of 2023. The largest of these, Al-Shabab, are rumoured to be the subject of a bid by Qatar’s sovereign fund, with a bid from theThe reasons for this privatisation are multifaceted. Saudi Arabia are keen to reduce their economic dependence on oil and tap into a global sporting market valued at $750bn.
“There is this new implied social contract in Saudi Arabia, driven by Bin Salman, which is ‘Whatever you want, you can have it – but don’t question us.’ There has been a marked increase in people arrested for posting negative comments about Saudi Arabia this year.” The Saudi Pro League has publicly stated its aims to triple its market value to become one of the top 10 leagues globally, with two teams in the top 20 of Deloitte’s annual Money League.While comparisons to China and its failing Super League are easily made, they are largely misplaced. A minority sport in China, football has been Saudi Arabia’s leading sport for decades.
Its domestic game has a pre-established, passionate following – the Riyadh derby between Al-Hilal and Al Nassr regularly draws crowds as large as the Manchester or north London derbies. The smallest of the PIF’s four sides, Al-Ahli, still has more Twitter followers than half the
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