Saudi Arabia are entering the second phase of its project to become increasingly endemic in the world of football. After bringing top stars to the Saudi Pro League, where Cristiano Ronaldo, Neymar, and Benzema now play, the new objective appears to be different: instead of extravagant spending on the transfer market, the goal is to bring money and expertise from Europe to Saudi Arabia.
According to a dossier by La Repubblica (via Calciomercato), the Middle Eastern state aim to keep interest in the world’s most popular sport alive at least until 2034, the year of the World Cup that will likely be held in the country. Saudi Arabia needs new investments and investors, owners different from local ones or funds like PIF that operate there.
With this task and objective in mind, Saudi ministers of Sports and Investments are holding meetings in major European cities, from London to Stockholm, from Munich to Milan. It’s called the Sport Europe Roadshow, as dubbed by MISA, the nation’s Ministry of Investment, which is presenting a 46-page document explaining the Saudis’ vision alongside these meetings.
The “Why Saudi Sport 2024” document outlines the Riyadh government’s desire to attract European companies to support and innovate their sports movement. Introducing private entities in a context where all clubs are publicly owned would increase the competitiveness of a tournament that currently interests few, from spectators to sponsors.
Paradoxically, despite allocating €624 million for sports federations and planning to circulate another €19.9 billion from now until 2030, Saudi Arabia is asking Europe for help. They’re doing this to attract new investors, support the kingdom’s objectives, strengthen existing partnerships, create new ones, privatize the sector, and collaborate.
In the presentations shown to potential new collaborators of the kingdom, the Arabs cite various existing commercial partnerships, such as those with Liverpool or Inter Milan, which opened an Academy in Saudi Arabia in 2019 and plans to open more. However, the novelty, as reported by Repubblica, is the appearance of AC Milan among potential investors. The Rossoneri are mentioned alongside other sports entities, including Formula 1 and Newcastle, which is already Saudi-owned.
The reason why Milan is cited and what the object of future collaboration with the club would be is yet to be understood. The club denies any involvement, but it’s a fact that the RedBird-owned club appears on an official document of the Riyadh government. Further developments are awaited.
