The Clap
The Public Investment Fund will acquire a 75% stake in Al Hilal, Al Nasr, Al Ittihad, and Al Ahly football clubs, the big four in the Roshn Saudi League.
What
The four clubs will be converted into companies, with the remaining 25% owned by non-profit sports organizations that include members of each club.
In addition, Aramco (2222) acquired Al Qadsiah FC, the Diriyah Gate Development Authority acquired Al-Diriyah Club, the Royal Commission for Al-‘Ula acquired AlUla Club, and NEOM received ownership of the Falcons Football Club.
So What
These important decisions come within the framework of the Sports Clubs Investment and Privatization Project, which was launched by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, currently persisting of two main tracks.
The first track is to allow large companies and development agencies to invest in sports clubs in return for ownership in the clubs.
The second track involves offering several sports clubs for privatization, starting Q4 2023.
The historic sports project aims to achieve quantum leaps in various sports in KSA by 2030, in addition to developing football and its competitions in particular, as it looks to drive the Saudi Pro League to become among the 10 best leagues in the world.
In addition, the project will look to increase the revenues of the Saudi Pro League from SAR 450 million to more than SAR 1.8 billion annually and increase its market value from SAR 3 billion to more than SAR 8 billion.
Now What
Sports are one of the key pillars of the government’s economic diversification plan on which its Vision 2030 is based.
Saudi Arabia has made huge strides in the field of sports and football in particular, by attracting many stars to the league.
Among the most popular names include Portuguese superstar Cristiano Ronaldo, who joined Al Nasr last January, followed by France and Real Madrid icon Karim Benzema, who recently signed for Al Ittihad.
There are also many rumors regarding the possibility of the Argentinian phenom Lionel Messi transferring to Al Hilal this summer.
