In recent years, especially since Mohammed bin Salman (MBS) became Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince, Riyadh has started to use sports and art as a way to assert its soft power, break free from its status as a pariah state, and gain recognition on the international scene after its reputation deteriorated as a result of human rights, political, and social crimes.
This policy, which MBS has adopted, is a crucial component of the Kingdom’s 2030 Vision, which aims to improve the Kingdom’s reputation.
MBS has advanced a series of reforms bolstered by ongoing political tyranny, including the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, backing autocratic governments in the area, committing war crimes abroad and serious violations at home.
Thus, sports and the arts, including boxing, football, auto racing, golf, art festivals, theatre productions, and other events, have become essential to whitewashing the Kingdom’s image.
However, a number of US senators turned down MBS’s attempts to clear his name through sportswashing after disclosing the Saudi Crown Prince’s espionage-related acts in the US, suing him, and calling for an investigation into his investment fund companies.
Concerns have been raised within US regulatory agencies after holdings by the the Saudi Public Investment Fund (PIF) have grown from around $2.5 billion in 2018 to over $35 billion today.
The US Congress members also revealed that the PIF owned planes used in Jamal Khashoggi’s killing in the Saudi consulate in Turkey. The PIF was established and headed by MBS to finance the NEOM city project, the most prominent project in Vision 2030, which resulted in the forced evacuation of the Al-Huwaitat tribe.
Sportswashing policy:
Sportswashing is a term used to describe corrupt or authoritarian regimes who use sport and sports events to whitewash their image internationally. Saudi Arabia has long been accused of using sport to whitewash its poor human rights record at home and abroad.
Saudi authorities have poured vast amounts of money into sporting ventures. This policy is part of Saudi Arabia’s effort to position itself as a modern destination, ridding itself of the “pariah” status it garnered with the 2018 murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi.
The Congress members who turned down MBS’s attempts to organize a lobby in his favor reflect the official US position against Saudi Arabia’s sportwashing attempts for political gain while imposing tyranny, suppressing society, and fuelling instability in the area.
