Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS) has spent billions of dollars on high-profile international sporting events in a bid to bolster his reputation, which hit a low after the 2018 assassination of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi by Saudi agents.
They were breaking into a sport with a dwindling, ageing fan base — if one with plenty of wealthy and influential members — and even if they succeeded, the profits would be a relative pittance for one of the world’s richest sovereign wealth funds. Experts say that these make clear that Saudi Arabia, with a golf investment of least US$2 billion, has aspirations beyond the financial.
“The margins might be thin, but that doesn’t really matter,” said Simon Chadwick, a professor of sport and geopolitical economy at Skema Business School in Paris. “Because subsequently you’re establishing the legitimacy of Saudi Arabia — not just as an event host or a sporting powerhouse, but legitimate in the eyes of decision makers and governments around the world.”
The Wall Street Journal also charged that the Saudi regime is using high-profile international sporting events in a bid to bolster its reputation.
Professional golf has this year been roiled by the emergence of LIV Golf, a Saudi-funded breakaway circuit that has lured stars from the US PGA Tour with eye-watering prize money of $25 million per tournament, the sports website said.
According to the source, LIV’s CEO Greg Norman stands accused of tearing golf apart with help from the deep-pocketed Saudi Public Investment Fund (PIF), in what activists describe as “sportswashing” –- using sport to distract from human rights abuses.
Meanwhile, media reports affirmed that LIV has been denied broadcasting rights by major broadcasting giants. CBS, NBC, and ESPN have already pledged their loyalty to the PGA Tour. Apple TV was one of the major broadcasters LIV was counting on.
However, recently, as per the sources, Apple TV and Amazon have also denied LIV the opportunity to be broadcasted on their platform. The streaming service termed the Saudi funded series as “too toxic” for them to broadcast it on their platform.
Things are not the same anymore for the US LIV Golf League after the entry of the Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) along the line. LIV Golf was turned down by a major broadcaster, which led to a severe dilemma for the series.
48 players have signed up for the rebel golf league backed by Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund, seeking for $250 million in prize money at the event. 16 of them are ranked among the top 100 players in the world.
Human rights organisations have long accused Saudi Arabia of using sport to whitewash its poor human rights record.
USA Today newspaper has earlier charged the participant players for destroying their reputations as they sportswash for MBS.
The newspaper further called for stigmatizing and penalizing LIV golfers for taking money from a repressive regime led by MBS.
MBS’ Whitewash Policy
MBS has spent at least $1.5bn on high-profile international sporting events in a bid to bolster its reputation, a Grant Liberty report revealed in 2021.
Human Rights Watch also said public spectacles and sporting events are part of “the Saudi government’s well-funded efforts to whitewash its image despite a significant increase in repression over the last few years.”
The Gamer Prince
Despite the domestic and global difficult 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.
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.
Over the last three years, he spent a combined $69,494 and counting on the Battle Pass alone, with $42,100 of that coming from 2018. He has been the top contributor in each of those years and set a record by reaching Level 175,000 in 2017.
MBS has been active on Dota since 2011 and has played over 10,000 matches in Dota, totalling a 5,772-5,467 win/loss record—a 51-percent win rate.
His play-time is private, but at the last time of recording, they had put 9,046 hours into Dota, along with nearly 550 hours in Team Fortress 2.
The new findings sparked large criticism on social media, where online activists accused the gamer prince of being also addicted to cocaine.
Others linked his brutal crackdown in the Kingdom with his addiction to video games.
