Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund has committed more than $2 billion to new long-term football sponsorship deals this year, with much of that spent domestically in Saudi Arabia, the Financial Times reports, citing the PIF’s most recent financial statements.
The Public Investment Fund said in its most recent financial statement that it had entered into sponsorship agreements “with multiple football clubs amounting to SAR8.75bn [$2.3bn]” in the first eight months of 2022, according to the report.
“The bulk of the surge in spending comes from a series of 20-year commercial partnerships between portfolio companies Qiddiya and Jeddah Central and a handful of domestic football clubs; and a five-year agreement to sponsor the Saudi football league by property developer Roshn, which PIF owns.”
The news of the mostly-local investment in the sport confirms the Kingdom’s continued ambitious to use investment into sports and entertainment to diversify its economy. It also comes a year after the PIF bought Premier League club Newcastle United for just over £300 million last year. Since the takeover, the new owners have spent more than £200mn on players and hired a new head coach and chief executive, the FT reports.
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