Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund announced an investment in US mixed martial arts (MMA) in yet another move by the kingdom to sportswash its poor human rights record, well-informed sources revealed.
SRJ Sports Investments, which is wholly owned by the Saudi Public Investment Fund, made the agreement with the US-based Professional Fighters League (PFL).
While the financial terms of the deal were not disclosed, the sources reported that the Saudi investment amounts to $100 million.
The Saudi Pro League has already seen some remarkable signings in 2023, with Cristiano Ronaldo, Karim Benzema, N’Golo Kante, Kalidou Koulibaly, and Ruben Neves joining clubs in the Middle East.
By doing so, they are competing with Europe's top five leagues: the Premier League, La Liga, Serie A, Bundesliga, and French Ligue 1, for the signatures of the best players.
This huge spending on sports came as part of MBS's efforts to whitewash his bloody image and poor human rights record.
Saudi Arabia's interest in gaming and eSports comes from the very top, with the Crown Prince said to be an avid “Call of Duty” player.
Group, which acquired top eSports firms ESL Gaming and FACEIT in deals reportedly worth a total of $1.5 billion.
Despite the domestic and global economic crisis and its involvement in Yemen's war, Saudi Crown Prince MBS spent an insane amount of money in one game or company’s ecosystem.
Over the last three years, he spent a combined $69,494 and counting on the Battle Pass alone.
Dot eSports revealed that MBS was one of the biggest spenders, affirming that he has already spent more than $6,000 on The International 2020 Battle Pass.
MBS has been active on Dota since 2011 and has played over 10,000 matches in Dota, totaling a 5,772-5,467 win/loss record—a 51-percent win rate.
His play-time is private, but at the time of recording, they had put 9,046 hours into Dota, along with nearly 550 hours into Team Fortress 2.
MBS was widely named as the “Gamer Prince” after hosting the international eSport gamers forum “Next World” this month.
Much like with Formula One and professional golf, the world's biggest oil exporter has in recent years leveraged its immense wealth to assert itself on the eSports stage, hosting glitzy conferences and snapping up established tournament organisers.
