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☆ Saudi Arabia is pouring billions into soccer, golf, and Formula 1. Its crown prince doesn't care if anyone calls it 'sportswashing.'
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-30 | by ( George Glover | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +9 min

Saudi Arabia is pouring billions into sports in a bid to transform its economy. Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has made the sector a key part of his Vision 2030 plan. But the reality is that the crown prince has a grander ambition: to level up Saudi Arabia's economic growth. "But Saudi Arabia is piling into other sports too, because they want to achieve a lot in a short period of time." AdvertisementAdvertisementAs Crown Prince Mohammed made clear last week, all this forms part of a broader strategy to supercharge Saudi Arabia's economy through investment.

Persons: Prince Mohammed bin Salman, bankrolled, —, Cristiano Ronaldo, Phil Mickelson, Anthony Joshua, –, Jamal Khashoggi, they've, Steve Luciano, AP Ronaldo, Al Nassr, Ballon, Karim Benzema, Neymar, Sadio, PIF, LIV Golf, Mickelson, Dustin Johnson, Brooks Koepka, LIV, Joshua, that's, Tyson Fury, Oleksandr Usyk, Frank Warren, Prince Mohammed, Mohammed bin Salman, Leon Neal, Simon Chadwick, Chadwick, megastars, Ronaldo –, Salman, bin Salman, Saudi Arabia –, St Andrews, Nick Kyrgios, who've, Elsa, he'd, they'll Organizations: Newcastle United, Service, Washington Post, Saudi, Investment Fund, Premier League, UEFA Champions League, Saudi Public Investment Fund, Newcastle, AP, Saudi Pro League, Georgetown University Qatar, PGA, WWE, Fox News, SKEMA Business School, Indian Premier League, FIFA Locations: Saudi Arabia, Saudi, England, Riyadh, Brazil, Liverpool, Kingdom, Jeddah, Lille, France, Reiche, Iran, Miami, Augusta, bankroll

Meanwhile, failed uprisings in Bahrain and eastern Saudi Arabia were followed by years-long crackdowns and a continuing civil war in Syria. “What we’re beginning to see in Saudi Arabia right now is the emergence of a new social contract. Saudi Arabia is the world’s biggest exporter of crude oil, and nearly two-thirds of its income still comes from selling fossil fuels. If Saudi Arabia can become a hub for major sporting events, then that’s a way of attracting interest to the country,” said Maguire. In response to previous criticism about Saudi Arabia’s purported “sportswashing,” the kingdom’s sports minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Turki Al-Faisal said: “People that don’t know Saudi Arabia, have never been to Saudi Arabia, go out and talk about it as if they’ve lived there for 30 years, 40 years.

Persons: Hilal, Kylian Mbappé, Germain, Neymar Jr, Ballon d’Or, Cristiano Ronaldo, Nassr, Patricia de Melo Moreira, it’s, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman –, Leon Neal, Ballon, Karim Benzema, Al Hilal, spender, –, Carlo Nohra, Jordan Henderson, Henderson, “, ’ ” Simon Chadwick, “ We’ve, ” Chadwick, King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, Al Nassr, Stringer, you’re, Kieran Maguire, they’re, Everybody’s, ” Maguire, Chadwick, Ronaldo, Maguire, … Mohammed bin Salman, ” James Dorsey, ”, Chadwick –, Mohammed bin Salman, Saudi Arabia’s, Prince Abdulaziz bin Turki Al, Faisal, don’t, they’ve, LIV Golf, Jimmy Dunne, LIV, Dunne, Aleksander Ceferin, Erling, Haaland, Jurgen Klopp, Michael Emenalo, Steven Gerrard, Nohra, ” “ They’ve Organizations: CNN, Saudi, Al, Paris Saint, PSG, Saudi Pro League, Ligue, Liga, Serie, Bundesliga, English Premier League, Deloitte, Investment Fund, AFP, Getty, SPL, Saudi Crown, Spanish, Arsenal, CNN Sport, English, Newcastle United, Liverpool, The Athletic, SKEMA Business School, Argentina, Zamalek, King Fahd Sports City, Anadolu Agency, Chelsea, Manchester United, Manchester City, Football, AFC Asian, FIFA, Greece, Royal Spanish Football Federation, Spanish Super, ”, Amnesty International, Amnesty, Middle East Soccer, Saudi Ministry, Sport, PGA Tour, European, UEFA, Premier League, Ettifaq Media, Reuters New Saudi Pro League, Major League Soccer, La Liga, Peterson Institute for International Economics, Russian Direct Investment Fund, Investigations, PGA Locations: Saudi Arabian, Brazil, Saudi, Ittihad, Al, Ahli, Real Madrid, England, France, Germany, Spain, Italy, Saudi Arabia, Liverpool, China, Qatar, Taif, Egypt, Spanish, East, North Africa, Libya, Yemen, Tunisia, Bahrain, Syria, “, ”, Europe, ” Liverpool

☆ Why Saudi Arabia is spending hundreds of millions on soccer stars like Cristiano Ronaldo and Neymar
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-08 | by ( Anuz Thapa | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Soccer in Saudi Arabia has entered a new era — the era of having global superstars play on Saudi turf. "This is what we're doing by bringing household names like that to the Saudi league. Saudi Arabia's sovereign wealth fund, the Public Investment Fund, is the financial vehicle driving these high-priced transactions. "Saudi Pro League is the top men's professional soccer league in Saudi Arabia." Watch the video above to find out why Saudi Arabia is doubling down its investment in professional soccer and more.

Persons: Neymar, Ballon, Cristiano Ronaldo, Fahad Nazer, Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Stefan Szymanski, Simon Chadwick Organizations: Soccer, Pro League, Saudi, CNBC, Public Investment Fund, Saudi Pro League, University of Michigan, Newcastle United, Critics, Skema Business Locations: Saudi Arabia, Saudi, Saudi Embassy, U.S, Ittihad, Al, Hilal, Ahli

That professionalisation has underpinned the success of the ninth Women's World Cup, which ended on Sunday with Spain beating England by a single goal in a final that pitted the two European countries with the strongest domestic leagues against each other. Attracting record crowds and television audiences, the tournament buoyed hopes that the women's game can start to bridge the yawning financial gap that exists with the men. TV BLACKOUTIn broadcast rights, the women's game has struggled to compete. The FIFA president, Gianni Infantino, threatened Europe's "Big 5" nations with a TV World Cup blackout unless their broadcasters upped their offers. But both Chadwick and Carlota Planas, a Spain-based women's' football agent representing several World Cup players, argued that the women's game now offers the values of tenacity, resilience and togetherness, which can appeal to advertisers.

Persons: Stoke City's, Molly Holder, Spain's, Olga Carmona, Sunday's, Gianni Infantino, Jill Ellis, Lisa Parfitt, Jill Scott, Chloe Kelly, Ella Toone, Kieran Maguire, Simon Chadwick, Chadwick, Carlota Planas, Planas, let's, Holder, Kate Holton, Nick Mulveney, Helen Reid, Suban Abdulla, Matt Scuffham Organizations: Stoke City women's, Reuters, Stoke City FC, REUTERS Acquire, Stoke, Spain, England, Deloitte, Real Madrid, Real Madrid men's, FIFA, Women, Football, Germany, University of Liverpool, Wembley, Super League, men's Premier League, Manchester City, Arsenal, School, Thomson Locations: Stoke, Trent, Britain, Handout, STOKE, England, MADRID, Spain, France, Germany, Italy, United States, Manchester, Chelsea, Liverpool, Sydney, London

☆ Why US sporting stars like Tom Brady, LeBron James, and JJ Watt are piling into English soccer
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-05 | by ( Joseph Wilkins | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Brady joins the likes of Jordan Spieth, JJ Watt, and LeBron James by buying into English football. Former NFL star Watt bought a minority stake in Burnley FC, in May. Now, legendary quarterback Brady has unveiled a minority stake in Birmingham City. The rise of across-the-pond partnerships raises a question: what is it about British clubs that has suddenly captured celebrities' imagination? The rewards for success in the English Premier League can be astronomical.

Persons: Tom Brady, Brady, Jordan Spieth, JJ Watt, LeBron James, Watt, Spieth, Michael B Jordan, Ryan Reynolds, Rob McElhenney's, Simon Chadwick, Reynolds, Ralph Lauren –, Christina Philippou, we've, Philippou, it's, Chadwick, That's, We've, they're, there's Organizations: Service, NFL, Burnley FC, Leeds United, Liverpool FC, Fenway Sports Group, AFC Bournemouth, Disney, Birmingham, Knighthead Capital Management, Wrexham, L'Oreal, English Premier League, Sky, BT, Amazon Prime, Premier League, Manchester City, Portsmouth University, Wrexham AFC, Premier League –, European Locations: Birmingham City, Wall, Silicon, British, Wrexham, Birmingham, United States

☆ Flush with cash, the Middle East is ramping up investment in soccer as a soft power push
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-13 | by ( Michael Considine | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Manchester City's victory in the UEFA Champions League final over Inter Milan was historic for a number of reasons. Manchester City's win, heavily backed by UAE money, comes as Saudi Arabia and Qatar look to ramp up their investment in the sport. The UAE's Sheikh Mansour purchased the club in 2008 and has since proceeded to spend more on transfers than any other club in world soccer. The scale of the investment has attracted criticism, with human rights group Amnesty International saying the UAE's spending amounts to one of soccer's "most brazen attempts to 'sportswash' a country's deeply tarnished image." "But in terms of soft power, image reputation, nation branding, I think it's significant as well."

Persons: Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed, Mohammed bin Zayed, Sheikh Mansour, it's, Simon Chadwick, CNBC's Organizations: Manchester, UEFA Champions League, Inter Milan, English Premier League, soccer, United Arab Emirates, Manchester City's, Manchester United, Amnesty, CNBC, Manchester City, Skema Business School Locations: Abu Dhabi, UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar

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