Goal Rich
World-class players have already started to arrive in the Saudi Pro League, redesigned in June. The country's four biggest clubs—Al Ittihad, Al Hilal, Al Ahli, and Al Nassr—were chosen, with investments extended to four additional teams from other state-owned businesses. Notable arrivals include Cristiano Ronaldo, who joined Al-Nassr in January 2023, and Karim Benzema, who signed with Al-Ittihad last summer. Stratospheric contracts, unmatched by any European club, have been signed by many more. The message is unmistakable: Saudi Arabia seeks to upend international football.
The World's Newest Richest League
Mohammed Bin Salman (MBS), the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia, is on a mission. His aim is to change the perceptions of the 35 million people living in his country and the rest of the world. To offset its reputation for human rights violations and to please its young, fast-expanding population, MBS has focused primarily on sports. Official sources, speaking with "The Athletic," revealed that Saudi Arabia aims to host 25 World Championships in various sports by 2030.
The Value of the Market
In Saudi Arabia, where 70% of the population is under 35 and passionate about football, the sport is highly valued. Attendance at Al Nassr games has soared by 143% since Ronaldo's arrival. This surge is expected to ripple through the league. A major component of Saudi Arabia's strategy is gaining international exposure. "Creating qualitative opportunities and an attractive environment for investment in the sports sector" is one of MBS's primary strategic goals. His "Vision 2030" master plan's chief aim is to wean Saudi Arabia's economy off fossil fuels. The League hopes to triple its market value with private sector investment and commercial revenue. Ticket prices have also risen since Ronaldo's arrival.
General Health
The competition organizers have extensively briefed us on the potential impact on public health. The government is addressing data showing that 60% or more of its population is overweight or obese. Yasser Al-Misehal, head of the Saudi Arabian Football Federation, stated that boosting the number of male players registered from 21,000 to over 200,000 is one of his goals. Naturally, "Vision 2030" also addresses self-perception. Simon Chadwick, a professor of sport and geopolitical economy at Schema Business School, said, “What MBS and his advisors don’t want is gangs of 26-year-old guys taking to the streets and plotting to overthrow the royal family because they have to live their lives differently from the rest of the world. Essentially, what the government is now doing is saying, ‘Well, if you want Cristiano Ronaldo, we’ll give him to you’, but the flip side is that they don’t want to be questioned. So far this year, there have been more arrests of people in Saudi Arabia for posting negative comments about the government than ever before. The contract is that you can have whatever you want, but don’t question us.”
Private Investment
The clubs that MBS selected for private investment clearly indicate his aim to appeal to the entire nation. Beyond the previously mentioned four biggest Saudi Arabian clubs, he is also heavily funding Al-Qadsia in the Eastern region and Al-Ula, the ancestral home of the old Thamud tribe, which helps him maintain support of the provinces. Al-Diriyah, the birthplace of Wahhabism, has also benefited from financial support. The four PIF-owned teams aimed to sign at least three well-known players each for the 2023–24 campaign. Fewer internationally recognized players are anticipated to be distributed among the league's other teams. It is expected that executives will be parachuted in, and more European coaches will join as well.
Facilities
Despite its current lack of prominence, global curiosity in Saudi football is growing. The smallest of the four PIF-owned teams, with 2.4 million Twitter followers, would rank about tenth in the English Premier League in terms of follower count. Al Nassr, with the largest fan base, has more Twitter followers than any English team outside of the "Big Six." High-value negotiations with European broadcasters have improved commercial facilities. The lack of infrastructure outside of one or two major arenas has long been a point of concern for Saudi football. With PIF's support, this influx of talent should accelerate development and increase the effectiveness of investment. Thus, a life of luxury awaits the most well-known celebrities, such as Ronaldo and Karim Benzema, but this is obviously not the case for everyone else.
Wages
The FIFA website reports that "Over 50 labor disputes involving Saudi Clubs have been heard within the past 12 months across the league [...] With claims of wages unpaid when injured, and in the worst cases, contracts being torn up and visas withheld." The list of decisions from its dispute resolution chamber indicates frequent contract breaches. In the summer of 2022, FIFPRO, an international union representing 65,000 football players, warned its members against signing with Saudi Arabian clubs. It included Saudi Arabia in a list of countries to avoid, alongside habitual violators like Algeria, China, Romania, and Turkey, because "non-payment of salaries" is a "recurring problem" in Saudi Arabia. The Athletic has been informed that public warning has not resolved the issue, and the seriousness of the payment problems remains unknown. There is no players' union in Saudi Arabia to advocate for locals, leaving them without recourse if they are not paid. Thus, if the Pro-League is to achieve its goals and Saudi Arabia's aspirations become more audacious and expansive, another facet of football culture will need to be established.
Liberty (detail), Eugène Delacroix, Liberty Leading the People (July 28, 1830)
The Real Discussion
The real discussion here is bigger than football. The world is becoming more and more intertwined and interconnected. Globalization is happening also in football. Technology has facilitated this; we follow football teams on Instagram, watch reels of their training, and whatever match there is in the world, we can search it up on our televisions. This obviously creates more money. Nowadays, the more money you have, the more chances you have to build a better team, therefore the more likely you are to win, and therefore, the more likely you are to create a bigger fanbase which increases the team’s popularity, which in return, creates more money. So, money is at the center of football, as it is in the world in the end, and globalization helps generate more money, because it’s money from all over the world. MBS has a lot of money, so why is what he’s doing frowned upon? FIFA has always said to be an international association, where anyone, wherever they are in the world, can be part of the footballing community. International competitions like the World Cup are there for any country to participate in and to host. The international expansion of FIFA and football in general, is a global phenomenon. Most football fans aren’t even in Europe. However, FIFA has always had a Eurocentric attitude. For example, most of the money goes to European teams, the most spots available for the World Cup are for European nations. Football was born in Europe, and what most fans against this “Saudi takeover” are claiming is in fact that the Saudi Pro League has no history, no culture, no tradition. Regarding history, compared to the biggest European championships it might be true, but still, it has been there since 1974, actually even before, it just had a different structure. It hasn’t started with the arrival of Cristiano Ronaldo. The culture and tradition are there, it is just not one that people in Europe have heard of, or as big as European ones. But this is because the world revolves around Europe, and it always has been, just as it has in football. I personally don’t believe in the “not having tradition and culture” argument because Europeans get so mad when Americans, for example, say that to European basketball. Obviously, it is going to be bigger and more followed where the sport was invented. Anyway, now, football is worldwide, and why shouldn’t it be? Furthermore, if a club has the means to buy certain players, why shouldn’t they? Couldn’t this be a movement that will allow the improvement of Saudi football? All of this could bring more youths closer to football, and therefore better players of their country, so that in the future there will be no need to buy at huge sums of money a Cristiano Ronaldo or Karim Benzema, but Saudi players themselves will be the real stars, and create a movement in the future of their own football global stars. However, the other point of view is that this sudden Saudi takeover is something never seen before. What is going on in Saudi Arabian football would be as if Joe Biden helped buy Lionel Messi this summer to join Inter Miami with the money of the US. Furthermore, it has raised a lot of doubts regarding coherence. An example of this regards the LGBTQIA community. FIFA and other European national football federations have made statements against the discrimination of the LGBTQIA community, giving rainbow flag armbands for the team’s captains, creating videos of the football players showing their solidarity to the cause, to raise awareness of the issue. This was obviously done if the players agreed to the statements by FIFA. However, many of these players that have agreed to these awareness videos and campaigns, then went to play in Saudi Arabia, a country where LGBTQIA people are killed and persecuted. Also, players who have promised loyalty to their team, then leave them for these huge salaries. Moreover, where does all of this money of MBS come from? Fossil fuels. So, do we want to finance one of the biggest fossil fuel producers? In conclusion, yes, it is about time that football actually becomes an international sport, where not only European teams and competitions are at the center of it. If a team has the means to buy players, they should, just as Real Madrid does it, for example. However, is it the right direction for the sport to bring the center of football to a country where most human rights laws are not respected? Where the contracts players are signing is directly with MBS, a wealthy and powerful authoritarian leader? Somewhere where sports-washing is occurring not only regarding human rights, but also the future of our planet? Time will be the judge of all of it.
