Saudi Arabia ready to play long game to realize dream

LONDON — A seismic year for soccer in Saudi Arabia witnessed the turbo-charging of its domestic league with expensive foreign superstars, an audacious bid to host the 2034 World Cup and the staging of FIFA’s inter-continental club tournament.

And 2024 will only be a few weeks old before Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo renew their iconic rivalry in Riyadh.

Argentina’s World Cup winning talisman Mr. Messi did not join the exodus to Saudi Arabia’s Pro League (SPL) this year, but his Inter Miami team will face Al-Nassr, Mr. Ronaldo’s club, in the so-called Riyadh Season Cup on Feb. 1.

That match lacks the gravitas of the 35 previous clashes between the two soccer icons. But it will once again thrust Saudi

Arabia into the spotlight as the kingdom expands a sport portfolio already bulging with LIV Golf, boxing, tennis and F1.

When Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) bought Premier League club Newcastle United in 2021 after a protracted process accompanied by cries of ‘sports washing’, it underlined the country’s intent to follow the lead of the United Arab Emirates and Qatar — its smaller neighbors who have bank-rolled some of Europe’s biggest soccer clubs.

But Saudi Arabia wants to go further as part of its Vision 2030 project aimed at diversifying the kingdom’s economy and glossing the country’s global image.

Developing a domestic soccer league that can become one of the top-10 in world soccer is crucial and no expense is being spared in trying to make that a reality.

PIF took control of four of Saudi Arabia’s biggest clubs in June — Al-Nassr, AlIttihad, Al-Ahli and Al-Hilal — then spent huge amounts recruiting the likes of Neymar, Karim Benzema, Riyad Mahrez, Sadio Mane and N’Golo Kante, to name a few.

Around one billion dollars of talent arrived in a head-spinning summer and as the January window opens, fans of top clubs in Europe might well wonder who is next.

Cynics might say such rapid growth from a low-profile regional league to one capable of disrupting soccer’s old order is doomed to failure, pointing to the Chinese Super League that sparkled briefly before fizzling out. —