“I believe that emerging leagues in emerging markets, having energy and having investment and creating noise is a positive. For many years, we were that challenging league and we’re in a different spot than we were in the past. I don’t look at that as a threat in any way to Major League Soccer. I actually think it’s positive for the sport. I wish them well.”
-MLS Commissioner Don Garber, discussing the rise of the Saudi Pro League and why it is good for the sport despite their direct competition to attract players. [Reuters]
“We are shifting from the existing relationship of an oil importer and an exporter and will deepen a new global partnership for the decarbonisation era.”
Prime Minister of Japan, Fumio Kishida [South China Morning Post]
“At the same time, Washington should not double down on its timeworn, security-focused strategy, rooted in efforts to create pro-U.S. defensive blocs as a counterweight to Chinese encroachment. Instead, the United States should expand its policy tools and investment in the region to areas where it enjoys a comparative advantage, such as human capital advancement, education, green technology, and digital platforms. And it should also support broader kinds of compacts with Arab partners and rising middle powers such as Brazil, India, and Japan that will allow it to diversify the region’s stakeholders, bring new investment, and reinvigorate U.S. engagement on trade, climate change, food security, and other issues.”
Jennifer Kavanagh and Frederic Wehrey, The Multialigned Middle East [Foreign Affairs]
“The Law establishes a general, comprehensive civil law framework for the Kingdom for the first time. It sets out clear guidelines for contracts including on what basis they will be considered valid or legally enforceable, how they will be executed, and how they will be terminated. The Law also lays out various contractual rights and obligations and covers several types of contracts such as sales, lease, agency, and construction contracts” ASG Analysis: Saudi Arabia Enacts the Civil Transactions Law [Albright Stonebridge Group]
“Saudi Arabia’s teams are among the best in Asia, but many of them have only the loosest internal structures. Few have sophisticated recruitment departments: For years, they have been “passive” purchasers, one executive said, reliant on agents to pitch players to them.”
Inside the Saudi Gold Rush [New York Times]
“Oxford University’s online data-gathering website, Our World in Data, ranked 185 countries around the world according to their average daily kilocalorie consumption in its index. Bahrain has become the world’s sole nation where daily calorie consumption exceeded the 4,000-kilocalorie benchmark, surpassing Ireland and the United States from the previous year. According to data, the average daily calorie consumption in the country reached 4,012 kilocalories. The ranking lists Turkey as the world’s top fifth biggest eater at 3,762.”
“Israel’s national anthem was played in Saudi Arabia’s capital of Riyadh on Tuesday at an esports tournament with Israeli competitors, likely the first time in the country’s history. An Israeli team competing in the world finals for the soccer videogame FIFA flew the Israeli flag and were greeted with Israel’s anthem Hatikvah at the tournament’s opening ceremony Tuesday after they arrived in Saudi Arabia on Friday. Israeli media reported that the gaming team, ranked second in the world, flew to Riyadh via the United Arab Emirates and entered the country on their Israeli passports.”
“Fueled by a combination of oil, Manhattan’s brightest consultants and the disruptive zeal of (crown prince) Mohammed Bin Salman, we have never seen anything like this before — a joined-up, hyper-connected sports strategy where investments are all intended to serve a much greater purpose.”
-Simon Chadwick, a professor of global sport and geopolitical economy at the SKEMA Business School. [The Athletic]
“Whether or not we would provide a means by which they can have civilian nuclear power, and/or be a guarantor of their security – I think that’s a little way off.”
-U.S. President Joe Biden, discussing U.S. relations with Saudi Arabia and the prospects for a Saudi-Israel normalization deal. Biden defended his trip to the Kingdom last year, telling Zakaria a number of successes came from the visit. [CNN]
“Some people might stare because it’s still kind of a new thing to see, but they respect my choice. I once had an Uber driver in Al Jouf who told me: ‘Look at me, with my beard and my mustache. I’m a man, but I married the woman my mother chose for me. But look at you, without an abaya: You’re a woman, and you made your choice. You’re braver than me.'”
-Fatimah Al Zimam, a 34 year-old Saudi woman who is self-employed as a tour guide in the Kingdom. [New York Times]
