Saudi sport-led PR mission reveals a mixed bag

Having spent huge amounts of money across various sports in order to burnish a controversial reputation, Saudi Arabia’s multi-faceted campaign appears to be yielding mixed results.

It comes amid different attempts by the kingdom to deepen its involvement in sport, from a massive outlay on long-term football sponsorship deals and, of course, major football teams, to a trickier attempt to get into golf through the LIV tournament.

The background

When the Public Investment Fund of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia acquired an 80% stake in the storied Premier League club Newcastle United a year ago, as part of a consortium, English football was beset with controversy. 

It was problematic for several reasons: it followed soon after the regime’s 2018 assassination of journalist Jamal Khashoggi in a Saudi Consulate and there was also alleged influence from the UK government, which it denies.

It was the second attenpt at a takeover, the first one having fallen through because of the country’s backing of a TV network understood to pirate sport streaming.  

What’s going on

Now the Financial Times reports that the Saudi sovereign wealth fund will spend over $2bn in long-term sponsorship of football clubs, mostly domestic, a year on from its controversial involvement with Newcastle United.

Elsewhere, reporting by Golfweek – part of USA Today – finds that LIV Golf, a Saudi-backed breakaway rival to the PGA Tour, is set to purchase airtime on sports TV networks in the US, having been turned down by many major networks. It’s likely that sponsors will be worried about this, with some executives who spoke to the magazine noting that many brands will want to steer clear of a tarnished event.

Analysis

Sportswashing, which is what the pressure group Human Rights Watch claims the Saudi government is attempting, is an increasingly popular way for rich, authoritarian states with poor human rights records to launder their reputation. Saudi Arabia isn’t the only authoritarian country to grow a nation’s profile and influence through sport. The ruling family of Abu Dhabi, part of the UAE, owns Manchester City; Qatar’s involvement in football stretches from its ownership of Paris Saint-Germain, the French capital’s football club, to hosting the upcoming men’s football World Cup. There are rumours that Saudi Arabia is considering a bid for the 2030 tournament.

But where LIV has struggled to attract sponsors – and some have parted from golfers as a result – the association with Newcastle United has caused a different reaction. Football appears to inhabit a place somewhere beyond morality in many fans’ minds – and those who doubt the potency of sponsorship should take note. It seems that some sports do it more successfully than others.

Ultimately, a football club is bigger than an individual player while the depth of many fans’ support for a club goes back many generations and will prove more difficult to break than a problematic owner. Any questions ought to be directed to those who approved the acquisition.

Sourced from the Financial Times, Golfweek, Sports Business Journal, The Guardian
^{[Image: Newcastle United/Castore]}