What do Saudis want? Everything
Shock merger consolidates power of the kingdom, which has football World Cup and Olympic Games in its sights
At 2.59pm yesterday, Saudi Arabia crossed the threshold of no return in the everyone-has-a-price world of elite sport. “PGA has caved,” texted one well-connected Riyadh figure as the United States tour and DP World Tour announced the biggest about-turn in golf ’s history.
Nobody, not even the aghast players, had seen a merger coming with LIV Golf, the establishment’s sworn enemy. The promises penned by the executives seemed inconceivable in the context of the two-year saga that came before. “This will unify the game of golf,” they said in an attempt to end the long-running and bitter legal battle.
The message for the rest of sport, however, was even more profound. For all the cries of sportswashing and political dissent, this was another milestone to prove that Saudi has the sporting world at its feet.
The £514billion Public Investment Fund is undefeated in sport but this is its biggest knockout blow yet. At every juncture, complaints have been drowned out by the sounds of coffers filling across the industry.
Since Anthony Joshua’s rematch with Andy Ruiz Jnr in Diriyah in December 2019, Saudi has become a leading destination for boxing’s biggest fights; after securing a Formula One race in 2020 to enormous protest, there have been two more grands prix held at the Jeddah Corniche Circuit; and since the purchase of Newcastle United on Oct 7, 2021, Cristiano Ronaldo has swapped Premier League football for a £165 million annual salary in the Saudi Pro League. Karim Benzema is close to joining him.
The significance for the Professional Golfers’ Association merger, meanwhile, is that Saudi is now comfortably the sport’s biggest backer. Yesterday’s announcement will mean PIF invests billions into an as-yet unnamed for-profit company. For the players who had already defected, they will have their bans from the tours lifted from the end of this season.
One insider said this would be celebrated as a diplomatic victory for Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in his mission to restore his reputation with the United States, as well as the UK, following the state-linked killing of Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi.
Just 24 hours prior to the announcement, the Crown Prince had announced his latest plans for sport as part of “Vision 2030”, the state’s initiative to diversify income streams away from dwindling oil reserves.
As part of that announcement, four of the kingdom’s top football clubs are being taken over by PIF this week as part of plans to eventually privatise them. There are aims for the revenue of the league to increase to £400million annually by 2030. State sources pointed to the rapid success at Newcastle in recent years to show that Western scepticism is being overcome.
These milestone sporting victories all lead to an even more ambitious scheme that will mean the nation attempts to bring the World Cup to the Middle East again – whatever the cost.
The country had been prioritising a 2030 bid, having privately offered to pay for new sports stadiums in Greece and Egypt if they agreed to team up with the nation. However, a potential Spain, Portugal, Ukraine and Morocco bid is seen by some as a favourite, so Saudi Arabia is understood to be willing to explore 2034.
Telegraph Sport disclosed in December that the country was also developing plans to bring the Olympic Games to the state. “We are always looking for new partners to join us on our transformative sports journey,” Prince Abdulaziz bin Turki Al Faisal, the Saudi sports minister, said.
All the while, however, stateapproved beheadings continue in the kingdom. Amnesty International issued a fresh warning yesterday, saying: “Last year alone, the Saudi authorities executed 196 people, the highest number for at least 30 years.” Amnesty’s Felix Jakens said: “Golf may be about to put one of its most high-profile commercial battles behind it, but it’s vital this latest surge in Saudi sportswashing isn’t allowed to obscure the increasingly dire human rights situation in Saudi Arabia.”
But is anyone in sport listening? Lionel Messi, an ambassador for the nation, has Saudi Arabia waiting by the phone while mulling over a £320 million-a-year switch to a club who would possibly struggle to win England’s League One title. Meanwhile, Ballon d’or winner Benzema is finalising talks over a switch to Al-ittihad.
The PGA, it seemed, was the last bastion in fighting LIV via the courts. Now it has given up, expect the rest of sport to be steamrolled.