Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund on Thursday became an “official tournament supporter” of the FIFA World Cup and reaffirmed its commitment to invest heavily in sports, despite notable retreats from other ventures in the past few months.
In announcing the partnership, the kingdom’s public investment fund (PIF) said that sports was a “priority sector” and soccer was crucial to the “ongoing transformation of Saudi Arabia.”
The PIF this month announced that it was pulling the plug on future funding for LIV Golf, the breakaway tour that it has poured billions of dollars into, raising questions about its long-term plans for other sports after its enormous spending in the past few years.
Photo: Reuters
While the value of the World Cup deal, which covers North America and Asia, was not disclosed, it bolsters ties between Saudi Arabia and FIFA.
The oil-rich kingdom has won the rights to host the 2034 edition of the World Cup and PIF was a commercial partner for last year’s FIFA Club World Cup.
According to FIFA accounts, television broadcasting rights had contributed “the lion’s share” of its annual revenue last year, worth more than US$1 billion.
Investment in other sports includes hosting a number of world championship boxing matches, Formula One racing and tennis.
While there has been a slowdown of top soccer players heading to the Saudi Pro League after its earlier aggressive recruitment drive, PIF outlined its ongoing commitment to the world’s most popular sport.
“PIF continues to expand its global footprint in sport, with football at the heart of this growth,” head of corporate brand Mohamed al-Sayyad said.
Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia is to stage its first professional Twenty20 cricket league in October, organizers said on Thursday.
The six-team league is to begin in the second week of October featuring “legends of the international game” alongside emerging talent, organizers said.
Additional reporting by Reuters
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