Sportswashing

The Saudis Have Already Taken Over Golf, Boxing and Football – So What’s Next?

T. M. Kennedy

SPORTSWASHING IS A TERM THAT HAS STARTED to be thrown around in the world combing sports and politics. The definition of sportswashing according to the Cambridge Dictionary is “the practice of an organisation, government or country that uses sports events as a way to improve its reputation”. Recently in the world of sport, many different sports have seen the involvement of the Saudi International figures and the Public Investment Fund (PIF). It all started with the gulf between the PGA tour and LIV golf (Saudi-backed golf league), and now the PIF have taken control over the Saudi Pro League in football and have started to throw ridiculous amounts of money at players that they cannot resist. Over the summer transfer window in football, many notable stars from the big leagues have decided to switch to the Saudi Pro League, where the quality of football may not be as good, but the money is a lot better. 

This is very similar to the LIV Golf where the Saudis are throwing ridiculous amounts of money for professionals to hit a small white ball into a hole. The great golf debate between the PGA and LIV has ultimately ended in a merger which only some could have predicted. 

But some wonder, what is the point and purpose of Saudis in sport, and why are they throwing all this money at various sports? As Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman states in Vision 2030 he “wants to diversify the economy and cater to young citizens so [Saudi Arabia] is a sustainable kingdom and not so reliant on oil”. But is this the real reason why such ridiculous sums of money are being thrown at sport? Is it so that the PIF and the Saudi Prince can sit at each end of the tables of sport or is it to gloss over their horrendous human rights record? 

Sportswashing with the Saudi International’s started in 2019 when a large boxing event ended up being hosted in Saudi Arabia. This was followed by a UFC event and then the start of the golf saga. The Saudi backed LIV golf entity shows that sportswashing works – money was thrown at players from the PGA tour – they joined the rebel tour while the PGA Tour increased purses for each event so that not too many players would leave. Then LIV Golfer Brooks Koepka wins the 2023 PGA Championship and shows that LIV Golf is not all about entertainment but serious golf. On Tuesday June 6 2023, the PGA Tour announced a merger with LIV golf – highlighting the fact that money prevails and that most people or organisations have a price where they will do business.  

Similarly, PIF bought Newcastle United, a team in the English Premier League, and similarly inserted large amounts of cash into the club. Although it helped the relegation club become a top four club, supporters were cheering as Ben Freeman (a research fellow at the Quincy Institute for responsible statecraft) said this when asked about Newcastle United’s supporters cheering on their owners: “A lot of sports fans are easily bought off. If somebody buys their team, they support them. Even if it happens to be an authoritarian government like the Saudis.” 

In simpler terms, sportswashing works, and this is the second time in recent years that the Saudis have done this to cover up their previous actions. As English footballing legend (now Sky Sports reporter) Jamie Carragher tweeted: “Saudis have taken over golf, boxing fights and now they want to take over football!! This sportswashing needs to be stopped.”

With football players such as Cristiano Ronaldo now playing in the Saudi Pro League, most people thought that the PIF would try and get players who were at the end of their career. However, Karim Benzema (pictured) who won the 2022 Ballon D’or, actually joined Al Hilal in the prime of his career and other players such as N’golo Kante, Robert Firmino Kalidou Kolibably and many more (some in the peak years of their career) have opted out of top European football leagues to chase big money. It comes back to my point that money wins out in the end and that most people have a price where they will do business. 

What does all this mean for the future of sport in our world? The Saudi-backed PIF will not back down as seen in the golf saga and will try to “merge” with other sports. It will most likely be similar to Kerry Packer in World Series Cricket, which is evident in golf. Most are still unsure about the future of other sports and whether the PIF will be interested. But sportswashing works and it will not go away anytime soon.