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  • Mobile esports reaches new heights in 2024 with a boost from Saudi Arabian investment

    It’s shaping up to be a banner year for the mobile esports industry, with an unprecedented amount of activity in the space in 2024. The secret to all this growth? A healthy amount of investment from Saudi Arabia. Mobile esports activity has been picking up gradually since 2021, but 2024 could be one of the most lucrative years yet for the esports teams and players participating in popular mobile games such as “PUBG Mobile” and “Mobile Legends: Bang Bang” (MLBB).

  • Inaugural Esports World Cup in Saudi Arabia, worth more than $60M, hopes to send ‘positive message’ to struggling industry

    Boasting the largest prize pool in esports history, this year’s inaugural 2024 Esports World Cup (EWC) could prove to be a pivotal moment for the industry.

    Organized by the Esports World Cup Foundation – and with the latest details announced on Tuesday – the EWC will bring together gamers, publishers and fans from across the world under one roof for an eight-week competitive gaming bonanza in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

    The tournament will include top global clubs competing against each other across 19 esports titles, including Apex Legends, Counter-Strike 2, Dota 2, EA Sports FC 24, Fortnite, League of Legends, Rocket League, StarCraft II, Street Fighter 6 and TEKKEN 8.

  • Top EM Manager: ‘Sportswashing’ Claims Show Saudi’s Fight For Survival

    There's absolutely no question that sport is great business. They're coming from a long way back and therefore they need heavy investment in business in order to get control. And in the short term, the beneficiaries are sports people. I don't know why there is a concern about sports people who have worked all their lives for a particular goal, being well rewarded for what they're doing, being described as sportswashing.

  • HKS Architects Unveils Geology-Inspired Design for Sports Arena in Saudi Arabia

    Commissioned by Diriyah Company, HKS Architects have revealed the design for a new multisport arena in Diriyah. Envisioned as a catalyst for the local culture and the entertainment sector, the 20,000-seat venue will be located in the center of The City of Earth, a 76,000-square-meter development aligned with Saudi Vision 2030, aimed at becoming one of the most attractive venues for tourism in the Middle East.

  • Saudi Arabia Is Splurging on Sports. Is It Working?

    As Saudi Arabia looks toward a post-oil future, the kingdom is spreading around its largess as never before. The Public Investment Fund, led by the country’s de facto leader, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, is making big bets on global sports including golf and football.

  • How a Saudi Prince Is Putting the Kingdom at the Center of Combat Sports

    How did this Saudi prince rise so quickly, considering that he has only been in the business since 2017? He had beaten UFC boss Dana White and boxing superstars such as Saul Canelo Alvarez to the top spot. Admittedly, he has a lot of Saudi money behind him, but that is only part of the story. If the Reddit boxing forums, with their 2 million followers, and the YouTube comments on the boxing channels are an indicator, then he seems to have earned himself a place in the hearts of boxing fans.

  • F1 returns to beIN Sports in Middle East with 10-year deal

    Qatar's beIN Sports has agreed a 10-year-deal to broadcast Formula One exclusively across the Middle East, North Africa and Turkey, both parties announced on Wednesday ahead of the Bahrain season-opener. The pay-TV broadcaster held the rights until the end of the 2018 season, when it decided not to renew as a consequence of piracy in the region. A 'BeoutQ' channel had emerged in 2017 after Saudi Arabia and its allies launched a diplomatic and trade boycott of Qatar, accusing the tiny Gulf state of supporting terrorism, which Doha denied.

  • Navigating the Landscape of Esports and Gaming in Saudi Arabia

    According to the Chairman of the Federation of Esports and Gaming HRH Prince Faisal bin Bandar bin Sultan Al Saud, the Kingdom’s aim to become a leading global hub for gaming and esports by 2030 will create over 35,000 jobs and contribute $13.3bn to the nation’s economy.

  • Why Saudi Arabia is betting on esports

    The scale of Saudi Arabia’s spending may seem like largesse. But there is a strategic logic to it. Estimates suggest that while the global esports market may currently be worth around 1.5B USD, that figure could rise to 7B USD by 2030. Yet Saudi Arabia’s ventures are not simply borne of a quest for financial gain or whimsical hankering for childhood. Indeed, esports have become a powerful policy tool being deployed by the Kingdom to help implement the profound transformational changes it is undertaking.

  • Saudi Sports for All Federation Welcomes More Than 20,000 Participants for 2024 Riyadh Marathon

    More than 20,000 participants from 125 countries, including a record 60% Saudi nationals, took part in the third edition of the Riyadh Marathon on February 10 – an increase of more than 33%, with 15,000 runners in 2023.