Saudi Arabia’s never-before-seen aggressiveness to be involved in as many professional sports as possible is no longer a secret, and this well-oiled machine is not showing signs of stopping any time soon.
Many across the globe see this as a move to create a different image of the kingdom as it prepares for a future in a world without oil, and what other better way to do this than sports?
Their next-door neighbor Qatar, although with a smaller purse, successfully hosted the last World Cup, and Saudi Arabia, with their deep pockets and massive ambition, looks to outdo them by hosting more diverse world championships across multiple sports disciplines.
Having already secured hosting rights for the 2034 FIFA World Cup, expect to see many world tournaments in different sports hosted in Saudi. Many argue that the investments the kingdom is making in sports are good for their development, even as critics display their displeasure at how this is altering the competitive landscape in some disciplines in what is being referred to as buying success. But as to which of the two groups is right about this development, the jury is out, and only time will tell.
In this article, we discuss a few of the sports that Saudi Arabia is investing heavily in and those that might be next in line. But as you enjoy the games, remember you can predict occurrences and win real money. There are many online betting sites in the market you can use for this, but GGbet guarantees the most competitive odds across all sports. Bet with them and enjoy bigger wins in all your favorite sports.
Table of Contents
Football
Source: atalayar.com
Football has seen some great investments from Saudi thanks to its bottomless money bag through the Public Investment Fund(PIF). The fund used last year’s summer transfer to announce business will no longer be as usual. It took control of four Saudi Pro League clubs, injecting millions of dollars into them, giving them the ability to sign some of football’s biggest talents from across the top leagues in Europe and the world. Christiano Ronaldo, Neymar, and Mane are some of the players that this revolution landed in Saudi.
On top of this, Aramco, the state-run oil firm, has signed the biggest-ever sponsor deal with FIFA, which will see FIFA receive more than 100 million USD every year. The infrastructural investment required for the expanded World Cup is also mind-boggling and might be the reason why only the kingdom bid for the 2034 World Cup, a feat that will have little to no effect on their well-oiled pockets.
Golf
In 2021, the PIF set its sights on golf, pledging a 2 billion USD investment to LIV GOLF – a golfing tournament that was in its nascent stages but promised a bright future. This investment has paid off, and now LIV is overtaking the PGA Tour in terms of popularity. It prompted a dynamic shift based on the new happenings forcing LIV, the PGA Tour, and the PGA European Tour to merge into one entity and wait for it, with the PIF as the only investor with sweeping rights to refuse any other investor coming on board! The deal is, however, being finalized, and it’s a matter of time before it’s done.
Cricket
Source: espncricinfo.com
Cricket has also seen some great investments from Saudi mainly through Aramco. The cricket governing body ICC onboarded Aramco as its naming sponsor. In last year’s cricket World Cup in India, Aramco’s logo was conspicuous in all the strategic locations in the venue thanks to this deal.
Saudi Tourism, another deep-pocketed state body, is also the main sponsor of the IPL. This cricket league is among the richest sports organizations, with revenues surpassing even those of the most popular football league in the world – the English Premier League. That is because of the high-cost broadcasting deals that the organization makes, taking advantage of India’s huge population.
Boxing
The kingdom has, in the recent past, held top boxing bouts involving elite boxers, with the most recent one being last December between Anthony Joshua and Wilder. Most of these matches held in Saudi are for promotional purposes, with organizers carefully selecting bouts that will capture the attention of boxing enthusiasts across the world.
Some of these matches are rivalries over past bouts that were not conclusive to everyone’s satisfaction, which the smart organizers, with the help of the deep Saudi resources, can finally solve. Fury is also expected to sort out some unfinished business with his sworn rival Usyk later this month in the Kingdom.
Tennis
Source: diriyahtenniscup.com
Saudi Arabia also has its sights set on the tennis world. The kingdom last December organized an exhibition match between Djokovic and Alcaraz, treating tennis fans to a rare tennis match that normally you would have to pay through the nose to enjoy. All this in a bid to popularize the sport in the country as they also make a veiled announcement that tennis too is not beyond the reach of the long arm of Saudi.
The Women’s Tennis Association also plans to hold its end-of-the-season finals in Riyadh. It is, however, the subject of a push and pull between the association and its female athletes, some of whom claim this would be rubber-stamping the alleged inequalities that women are subjected to in Saudi Arabia. On the other hand, Tunisia-born tennis star Jabeur can’t wait for the tournament to come to Riyadh and dismisses sentiments by her colleagues as hearsay.
eSports
Saudi Arabia is also eyeing a piece of the esports world, tapping into its demography consisting mainly of young people. With some reports touting esports to replace some conventional sports in ranking soon, Saudi is leaving nothing to chance.
Late last year, the kingdom announced that starting the summer of 2024, it will annually play host to an esports World Cup to be held in Riyadh. As expected, the tournament will hold the largest prizes ever seen in esports as Saudi makes a bold statement in this field.
