Saudi Arabia's enormous investment in sports in recent years is often accused of being "sportswashing". A way to whitewash the image of an authoritarian regime that violates human rights and to create "goodwill" among the domestic population.
A year ago, over 300 sponsorship agreements in sports could be linked – directly or indirectly – to the Saudi state for 2023 and onwards.
Now, the figure has grown to 910 sponsorship agreements, according to a new survey from Play the Game.
Deeply established
This is active agreements focusing on 2024 and onwards. The dataset shows Saudi Arabia's current engagement in the sports world and how deeply they establish themselves in several different sports, says Stanis Elsborg, head of the organization, which is part of the Danish Institute for Sports Studies.
Football is the sport that is sponsored the most with 194 agreements – which is an increase of over 100 agreements compared to the previous survey. At the same time, Play the Game sees an increase in other sports as well.
Our research shows significant increases in other areas. Boxing, e-sports, and golf are the largest recipients of Saudi Arabia's investments, closely followed by motor sports and mixed martial arts (MMA), says Elsborg.
Boxing, for example, had only a dozen sponsorship agreements in the previous survey – now the figure is 123. There are also increases in golf (92), MMA (70), and e-sports (66).
These sports are in line with Saudi Arabia's strategy to invest in high-profile, globally popular events to strengthen its influence, says Stanis Elsborg.
Awarded the 2034 World Championship
The state-owned investment fund Pif accounts for more than a third – 346 agreements – followed by oil giant Aramco and the state-owned entertainment authority (both around 70 agreements).
For example, Pif also owns Premier League club Newcastle – where national team star Alexander Isak plays – and Aramco has this year become one of Fifa's (International Football Association) seven global sponsors. The agreement is believed to be worth over one billion kronor (100 million dollars) per year until 2027.
Next week, Saudi Arabia is expected to be awarded the 2034 World Championship. The country is the only candidate ahead of Fifa's congress.
