Saudi Arabia Buys Some More Soccer
Concacaf hops into bed with their friendly neighborhood PIF
Sports’ biggest investor these days isn’t private equity, despite the headlines out of the NFL. It’s not private at all, in fact. It doesn’t get much more public than this.
I’m talking about the Public Investment Fund, or PIF, the sovereign wealth fund of the Saudi Arabian government. They’re real into sports these days, and though they like all of them, they do have their favorites. Golf’s one, as we’ve written about quite a lot around here. They like combat sports too, as
frequently reports.But the true favorite might be soccer. This is the fund bankrolling Cristiano Ronaldo to the tune of $215M/year, after all.
And now they’ve got a new logo in their portfolio, as reflected in the nice lil photo op pictured above. Buckle up for some acronym soup though, as these two don’t even use the same letter case.
PIF’s new pal is Concacaf, the Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football. That’s the continental governing body that puts on tournaments of its own, like the Gold Cup, and co-organizes tournaments like the Copa América. You know, the one where we all watched from a confoundingly high camera angle as the USMNT blew it against Uruguay this year? That one.
This deal has been framed around growth and development, including youth tournaments throughout the continent. It doesn’t have a dollar figure attached to it, so it may turn out that it’s not all that large a commitment.
I would go so far as to say that the amount of the investment doesn’t really matter. It’s the very fact of it, and that may strike you as a strange topic to pick for a newsletter, but here’s why I think so.
Concacaf is of interest to the Saudis because North America will be hosting the next World Cup in 2026. What this deal effectively guarantees is that PIF will be involved in the lead-up to that event, perhaps even its execution.
Which is great for them, because guess who has the World Cup two turns of the wheel after that? Saudi Arabia 2034, baby! Told you soccer was their favorite. Crazy detail, by the way: they were the only bidder. Imagine that.
Keen watchers of the sports business pages will recall that PIF made news back in March with a $2B cash offer to buy the ATP and WTA, both the men’s and women’s main professional tennis tours respectively. There’s already been plenty of engagement there.
Jedda has been hosting a major ATP (men’s) tournament since last year, and Riyadh will host its first of three WTA (women’s) Finals this year.
This has understandably bothered some players — and legendary former players, like Martina Navratilova and Chris Evert — who question the human rights bona fides of a country that started allowing women to play sports six years ago and continues to enforce repressive laws around male guardianship.
Now, in fairness, any WTA and ATP event is playing a distant fifth or sixth in the minds of the average fan. This does not involve moving Wimbledon to Dammam anymore than the would-be deal with the PGA Tour meant moving the Masters to Jubail. Those aren’t things that are going to happen.
The main impact of this involvement — which isn’t insignificant on its own — might still be the foot in the door.
The Saudi government has several feet in several doors, and they’re always looking to see what else can be propped open. I personally think we’re past the widespread outrage we saw in the wake of the LIV deal. I didn’t see much reaction to this Concacaf announcement at all.
Much of the point of what we call sportswashing is the pursuit of normalcy. If it works, over time, people stop noticing or caring that the objectionable sponsor is involved. Maybe I’m getting ahead of myself, but from where I’m standing? Looks like it’s working.
Also, This
🏈 Football’s back, and the defending champs looked pretty good to me. A little sloppy, yes, but I didn’t see much evidence of a Super Bowl hangover last night. Still, the Ravens were this close. That non-touchdown was the Kevin Durant Nets shot of Thursday Night Football. Hate to say it already, but I can comfortably predict a First Take discussion topic today: is Lamar Jackson good enough to hit open receivers?
📺 This DirecTV-Disney spat over carriage fees — the subject of last week’s newsletter, for different reasons — is hitting the everyday fan, and I don’t think I like that. I guess that includes me, too, as I noted these timely ads all over my (Disney-owned) ESPN app. Points for creativity!
🎾 So pleased to report back from my first trip to the U.S. Open this week, where I saw Iga Swiatek dismantle Liudmila Samsonova and — my dear little guy — Jannik Sinner not quite dismantle but generally out-talent a spirited effort from Tommy Paul. I may just be getting old, but I will say: we managed to sit among a uniquely annoying group of fans, featuring the following cast of characters:
The utterly unhinged Tommy Paul fan, played by a young woman who could not let a point go by without screaming bloody murder and was eventually scolded(!!!) by other members of this cast
The citizen’s arrest disciplinarian, played by the brave man ~6 rows ahead of us who stood up, turned around, and asked: “Hey, could you stop? Thanks.”
The know-it-all high-brow tennis fan, played by the particular breed of New Yorker that can’t wait to tell you why your book club novel is literarily inferior to what she’s reading right now
For all those contributions, I still loved it. I’ll be back! Go Fritz/Tiafoe.