Saudi Arabia has struck more than 900 sponsorship deals across the sporting landscape and made dozens of formalised agreements with football federations as it prepares for a controversial coronation to host the 2034 World Cup.
The country’s stranglehold has been laid bare by Play the Game, a Danish-run organisation that aims to promote democracy, transparency and freedom of expression in sport. It maps what its authors describe as Saudi Arabia’s “strategic effort to reshape the Kingdom’s global image while leveraging sport as a tool of geopolitical influence” and underlines how football, in particular, has been targeted in the buildup to the World Cup announcement next week.
Over the past two and a half years, Saudi Arabia has sealed more than 35 memorandums of understanding with different countries’ federations, most recently with the Football Association of Ukraine in October. In total it has 48 with individual nations and further agreements with the Oceania Football Confederation and the Confederation of African Football. All bar the Ukraine deal and additional accords with France and Croatia involve countries from outside Europe.
While such arrangements, which generally involve pledges to knowledge share and collaborate on aspects of development, are not uncommon in football, the scope of Saudi Arabia’s influence and diplomatic clout is eye‑catching. Its unopposed bid for the 2034 tournament will be passed on 11 December without a formal vote, meaning the world’s federations will effectively wave it through via a round of applause in an online meeting. The Guardian understands there is disquiet among a number of federation chiefs about the remote, rushed-through nature of the decision.
Of the 910 Saudi sponsorships charted by Play the Game, 194 are specifically concentrated on football. These include deals closed by Aramco, the state oil company, to sponsor the 2026 men’s World Cup and 2027 women’s World Cup, as well as further global age-group tournaments and 17 major competitions in the Concacaf region.
Among Aramco’s 71 deals is a $100m annual partnership with Fifa that was described as a “punch in the stomach” six weeks ago in an open letter signed by more than 100 women’s footballers. Their call for it to be reconsidered on humanitarian and environmental grounds, in reference to ongoing concern over Saudi Arabia’s record on both fronts, has thus far fallen on deaf ears.
The Saudi Public Investment Fund, which owns Newcastle United, and its subsidiaries account for 346 sponsorships across a range of sports. Boxing, esports and golf have joined football in becoming major targets for the country’s involvement in sport. The wide-ranging “Riyadh Season”, which will include Oleksandr Usyk’s heavyweight world championship fight against Tyson Fury on 21 December, has become a focus of its ability to host big-ticket events.
Play the Game’s research has also underlined the fundamental connection between Saudi Arabia’s state mechanisms and key positions in sport. It finds that 1,412 positions in 207 Saudi entities are held by key members of the country’s political elite, with the Newcastle chairman, Yasir Al-Rumayyan, a key confidant of the crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman, holding 22 roles. The report alleges various conflicts of interest among figures who are involved in both sport and state entities.
“The sharp spike in investments and strategic partnerships speaks volumes about Saudi Arabia’s ambitions and expanding grip on international sport,” said Stanis Elsborg, one of the study’s authors, who also claims the country’s thirst for involvement has “reshaped the sports world”.
On Saturday Amnesty International accused Fifa of an “astonishing whitewash” after it released its Saudi 2034 bid evaluation report and awarded a highest-ever score of 4.2 out of five.
