Saudi Arabia's Involvement in Sports Likely to Grow in 2024
2023-12-27
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1At the beginning of 2023, Saudi Arabia's growing influence on professional golf, and sports in general, was a concern for players and their fans.
2Twelve months later, discussions are very different. Worries about the supposed threat of "sportswashing" - using sports to improve a country's reputation - have declined.
3Concerns about moral issues - the line between "right" and "wrong" - have also gone down.
4Attention now is fixed on just how rich the Saudis might make the athletes.
5Two major events caused the change.
6On June 6, the PGA Tour announced it was looking to go into business with the Saudi group that was paying for the kingdom's LIV Golf, which the tour had labeled as a threat.
7Then, six months later, Jon Rahm, the world's third-ranked professional golfer and an early resister of LIV, decided to join LIV for a deal reported to be worth about $500 million.
8Other important events included the continuing talks between the Saudis and leaders of professional tennis organizations.
9In addition, the push into soccer will bring the world's biggest sporting event, the World Cup, to Saudi Arabia in 2034.
10Dan Durbin is director of the Institute of Sports, Media and Society at the University of Southern California (USC).
11Durbin said of the Saudi plans: "You're investing in sports, which is one of the few growth industries in the world....It is, as far as we can see, an almost endless growth industry."
12In early 2022, the discussion about golf centered on Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund, or PIF, in LIV Golf.
13At the time, six-time major winner Phil Mickelson made a critical comment about Saudi Arabia related to the murder of the Washington Post writer Jamal Khashoggi.
14Mickelson's comment set the dividing line in what was viewed as a moral question.
15And the discussion ignored how important Saudi Arabia is in the world economy.
16The Saudis gain much of their importance by supplying around 15 percent of the world's petroleum.
17Besides golf, the fund offered one of soccer's biggest stars, Cristiano Ronaldo, $200 million to join a Saudi team. And it also owns the Premier League's Newcastle soccer club.
18As the calendar turns to 2024, there is no sign of Saudi involvement in sports slowing.
19The Saudis are hosting a Formula One auto race.
20They are also looking to invest some $5 billion into cricket's Indian Premier League with an eye on making it bigger in other countries.
21The ATP, which runs men's professional tennis, has a five-year deal to hold one of its biggest events in the Saudi port city of Jeddah.
22Talks between the Saudis and the women's tour are reportedly ongoing.
23In a sign of how public discussions have changed, Billie Jean King, who fought for equal pay for women in sports, has said bringing women's tennis to the kingdom might not be all bad despite its poor record on women's rights.
24"I don't think you really change unless you engage," she said earlier this year.
25Durbin says sports is a way for the kingdom to be seen as more than an oil-producer with a bad human-rights record.
26"For decades, sports has been the center of soft diplomacy," he said.
27"You try to create a positive response and feeling about your ethics because you're holding to the rules of sports."
28I'm John Russell.
1At the beginning of 2023, Saudi Arabia's growing influence on professional golf, and sports in general, was a concern for players and their fans. 2Twelve months later, discussions are very different. Worries about the supposed threat of "sportswashing" - using sports to improve a country's reputation - have declined. Concerns about moral issues - the line between "right" and "wrong" - have also gone down. Attention now is fixed on just how rich the Saudis might make the athletes. 3What has changed? 4Two major events caused the change. On June 6, the PGA Tour announced it was looking to go into business with the Saudi group that was paying for the kingdom's LIV Golf, which the tour had labeled as a threat. 5Then, six months later, Jon Rahm, the world's third-ranked professional golfer and an early resister of LIV, decided to join LIV for a deal reported to be worth about $500 million. 6Other important events included the continuing talks between the Saudis and leaders of professional tennis organizations. In addition, the push into soccer will bring the world's biggest sporting event, the World Cup, to Saudi Arabia in 2034. 7Dan Durbin is director of the Institute of Sports, Media and Society at the University of Southern California (USC). Durbin said of the Saudi plans: "You're investing in sports, which is one of the few growth industries in the world....It is, as far as we can see, an almost endless growth industry." 8Saudi's investments 9In early 2022, the discussion about golf centered on Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund, or PIF, in LIV Golf. At the time, six-time major winner Phil Mickelson made a critical comment about Saudi Arabia related to the murder of the Washington Post writer Jamal Khashoggi. 10Mickelson's comment set the dividing line in what was viewed as a moral question. And the discussion ignored how important Saudi Arabia is in the world economy. The Saudis gain much of their importance by supplying around 15 percent of the world's petroleum. 11Besides golf, the fund offered one of soccer's biggest stars, Cristiano Ronaldo, $200 million to join a Saudi team. And it also owns the Premier League's Newcastle soccer club. 12As the calendar turns to 2024, there is no sign of Saudi involvement in sports slowing. The Saudis are hosting a Formula One auto race. They are also looking to invest some $5 billion into cricket's Indian Premier League with an eye on making it bigger in other countries. 13The ATP, which runs men's professional tennis, has a five-year deal to hold one of its biggest events in the Saudi port city of Jeddah. Talks between the Saudis and the women's tour are reportedly ongoing. 14In a sign of how public discussions have changed, Billie Jean King, who fought for equal pay for women in sports, has said bringing women's tennis to the kingdom might not be all bad despite its poor record on women's rights. 15"I don't think you really change unless you engage," she said earlier this year. 16Durbin says sports is a way for the kingdom to be seen as more than an oil-producer with a bad human-rights record. 17"For decades, sports has been the center of soft diplomacy," he said. "You try to create a positive response and feeling about your ethics because you're holding to the rules of sports." 18I'm John Russell. 19Eddie Pells reported on this story for the Associated Press. John Russell adapted it for VOA Learning English. 20________________________________________ 21Words in This Story 22reputation-n. the common opinion that people have about someone or something 23rank -v. to place someone in a particular position among a group of people that are being judged according to ability 24cricket - n. a game played on a large field by two teams of players who try to score runs by hitting a small ball with a bat 25engage -- v. to become actively involved 26decade -- n. a period of 10 years 27response -n. something that is said or written as a reply to something