Saudi Arabia’s network of spending and influence detailed before getting 2034 World Cup from FIFA

By GRAHAM DUNBAR The Associated Press
FILE - Saudi Arabia Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, left, and FIFA President Gianni Infantino, stand for the anthem prior to the match between Russia and Saudi Arabia which opened the 2018 soccer World Cup at the Luzhniki stadium in Moscow, Russia, on June 14, 2018. (Alexei Nikolsky, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP, File)[ASSOCIATED PRESS/Alexei Nikolsky]

GENEVA (AP) — Saudi Arabia’s growing influence and massive spending in global sports ahead of being confirmed by FIFA as the 2034 World Cup host was detailed on Monday in a report that cited risks to good governance off the field.

More than 900 sponsor deals — more than one-third traced to the $925 billion Saudi sovereign wealth fund — and a network of officials with overlapping state, business and sports roles were cited by Play The Game, a publicly funded sports ethics institute in Denmark.

The oil-rich kingdom’s investment of tens of billions of dollars in soccer, golf, boxing, tennis, the Esports Olympics and a yet-to-be-built ski resort will get its most coveted prize next week from FIFA, the 2034 World Cup in men’s soccer.

The close ties between FIFA president Gianni Infantino and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman were built since 2018 amid global criticism of the kingdom’s record on human rights, including for women, migrant workers and freedom of expression.

“Saudi Arabia’s sports strategy seeks to divert attention from these realities, revealing the tension between the ideals of sport and the realities of power, money, and politics,” Play The Game’s Stanis Elsborg said in the report.

FIFA passed a mandatory step toward the 2034 decision by publishing at the weekend an in-house evaluation of the World Cup hosting plan that offered more praise than critical analysis, including labor issues for how most of the 15 stadiums will be built.

On Dec. 11 in Zurich, FIFA will host an online meeting to ask more than 200 member federations to acclaim Saudi Arabia as the 2034 host, 14 months after shaping a fast-tracked and narrow-focused contest that produced just one candidate.

Nearly 50 of those voters have signed working agreements with the Saudi soccer federation, while the soccer bodies for North America, Africa and Asia separately struck cooperation deals or tournament sponsor deals with the sovereign Public Investment Fund (PIF), state oil firm Aramco and the planned megacity project Neom.

“The awarding of the 2034 World Cup to Saudi Arabia is merely the culmination of years of strategic investments and behind-the-scenes manoeuvring,” said the report, called “Saudi Arabia’s grip on world sport.”

FIFA itself signed Aramco in April to an elevated World Cup sponsor category of “major worldwide partner,” worth a reported $100 million each year through 2027.

The chairman of Aramco, Yasir Al-Rumayyan, also is governor of the PIF which has a goal to “deliver a strategy focused on achieving attractive financial returns and long-term value for the country.” He is chairman also of the LIV Golf project, new airline Riyadh Air, and English Premier League club Newcastle.

“Aramco and FIFA intend to leverage the power of football to create impactful social initiatives around the world,” FIFA said in April.

Saudi state and sports officials have consistently cited the crown prince’s Vision 2030 program to diversify the economy beyond dependence on oil and modernize the traditionally conservative society while giving opportunities to a young population.

Infantino has not taken questions from international media, nor held a news conference, in the 14 months since the Saudi candidacy was declared. No news conference is scheduled on Dec. 11 at FIFA headquarters after the closed-doors meeting.

More Saudi commercial deals are expected after the 2034 World Cup decision, either for the 2026 edition being played in North America or the revamped Club World Cup being staged by the United States next year.

“It’s very complex — there’s lots of interlinked parts,” Dan Plumley, sports finance expert at Sheffield Hallam University, told The Associated Press in a telephone interview on Monday.

“We are living in a utopia if we think that sport and politics can be separated in the modern world because that’s impossible,” Plumley said. “There is always power, influence and money, which ultimately dictates the direction of travel.”

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AP Sports Writer Steve Douglas contributed.

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