The PGA Tour, DP World Tour and LIV Golf announced on Tuesday they are merging to form "a new collectively owned" entity; Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund will make a capital investment; Merger is latest significant move from Saudi Arabia in world sport
Thursday 8 June 2023 06:07, UK
Saudi Arabia is quickly becoming one of the largest players in world sport, with Tuesday's stunning merger in men's professional golf arguably its most significant step yet.
After a year of division in the world of golf following the creation of the LIV Golf series, Tuesday afternoon saw the shock announcement that the Saudi-backed tour would be merging with the PGA Tour and DP World Tour to set up a new commercial entity to "unify golf".
Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund (PIF), which funded LIV Golf's emergence, will make a capital investment into the combined entity as part of the agreement "to facilitate its growth and success". PIF governor Yasir Al-Rumayyan has been named chairman of the new commercial entity.
PIF's merger with the PGA Tour and DP World Tour comes off the back of its takeover of Newcastle United in 2021, while Formula 1 has staged a Grand Prix in Saudi Arabia since 2021 and the country has become a regular host of boxing cards in recent years.
Here Sky Sports examines how Saudi Arabia gained a growing influence in sport and what it might look to target next.
Sport is a key pillar of Saudi Arabia's 'Vision 2030' project - a strategic programme seeing investment in many sectors as Saudi Arabia seeks to diversify its economy away from its finite oil reserves.
Investment in sport is aimed, so those who speak for the Saudis say, at encouraging grassroots participation in sport among men and women and at creating a professional elite-level environment for Saudi athletes, national teams and clubs across all sports to thrive.
Critics of the regime say the country, under its de facto leader Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, are using sport to give the country legitimacy, to effectively 'sportswash' its reputation given a long history of human rights abuses in the kingdom.
'Sportswashing' relates to enhancing the reputation of a controversial country or an organisation by using sport sponsorship or event hosting.
The purchase of an 80 per cent stake in Newcastle in 2021 by the PIF after a protracted takeover remains the most obvious Saudi interest in football from a UK perspective, but its ambitions have not stopped there.
There is heavy investment going on to bring some of the world's top stars to Saudi Arabia.
Cristiano Ronaldo joined Al Nassr in January after leaving Manchester United, and he was named the world's highest-paid athlete in 2023 by Forbes.
Ronaldo's former Real Madrid team-mate Karim Benzema completed his move to Al Ittihad on Tuesday while Lionel Messi had been in the sights of Al Hilal, although the Argentine is now set for Inter Miami in the MLS.
Al Nassr, Al Ittihad and Al Hilal are to be majority-owned by the PIF - along with Al Ahli - as part of a government probe to privatise ownership in top-level sport.
The PIF has a net value estimated at over £500bn.
Benzema is set to feature for Al Ittihad at December's Club World Cup which will be staged in Saudi Arabia - the first time it has hosted a major FIFA event. That tournament which will feature Manchester City if they beat Inter Milan in Saturday's Champions League final.
Saudi Arabia wants to make its Pro League one of the premier domestic leagues in the world and is set to keep adding star names to boost its profile and ability to generate revenue.
Saudi Arabia is also reported to be providing the financing for a new Super League in Africa.
And hosting a World Cup is also in the sights of the Gulf state.
An ambitious bid for the 2030 tournament was being explored by the Saudis - jointly with Greece and Egypt. In April, Egypt's sports minister said they had decided not to be part of a bid for the 2030 World Cup, but it is anticipated that Saudi Arabia will be a bidder for either the 2030 or the 2034 editions.
Saudi Arabia has hosted three grands prix since joining the Formula 1 calendar in 2021, most recently in March as the second race of the 2023 season.
The Saudi Arabian GP is currently held on a street circuit in Jeddah but the plan is for the race to eventually move to a purpose-built circuit in Qaddiya.
Saudi Arabia's contract with Formula 1 runs to at least 2030.
In addition to hosting races, Saudi company Aramco is one of F1's top-tier 'global partner' sponsors. The company has trackside branding at races and is also the title sponsor of this summer's British Grand Prix.
And there have also been reports of Saudi Arabia wanting to buy Formula 1 itself. In January Bloomberg reported that the PIF had explored a $20bn (£16bn) bid in 2022 to takeover F1, but the sport's current owners Liberty Media were not willing to sell.
F1 have not commented on that report, although Saudi Arabia's sports minister labelled it "purely speculation".
Tuesday's announcement about the merger of LIV, the PGA Tour and the DP World Tour at commercial level is hugely significant, with some observers saying this was almost a takeover of the whole sport by Saudi Arabia at the elite level.
The PIF will provide the initial financial backing for the new entity and have the exclusive right to further invest, and a first refusal on any other capital to be invested.
The money that Saudi Arabia had been paying to try and convince the world's leading golfers to join LIV was also seen in the Forbes' rich list, with former world No 1 Dustin Johnson number six in the list and Phil Mickelson seventh.
Saudi Arabia is also becoming more prominent in the women's game too, with the PIF-backed Aramco Team Series making up five events on the Ladies European Tour in addition to the Aramco Saudi Ladies International.
Saudi Arabia has become a venue of choice for promoters in recent years, with Anthony Joshua having fought there in 2019 and 2022 against Andy Ruiz and Oleksandr Usyk respectively.
Usyk, the unified WBA, IBF and WBO heavyweight world champion, also signed with Skill Challenge Entertainment - Saudi Arabia's "first fully integrated sports and entertainment agency" - earlier in June.
Saudi Arabia also played host to Tommy Fury's fight against Jake Paul in February.
Saudi Arabia has a well-established history in racing, like a lot of Middle Eastern countries.
Prince Khalid Abdullah, until his recent death, owned the likes of Dancing Brave and Frankel and his legacy lives on through the Juddmonte breeding operation.
However, recently the country has taken a far more prevalent role in the sport with the introduction of the Saudi Cup, the richest race in the world at $20m and that meeting in February is likely to go from strength to strength.
Saudi Arabia has repeatedly tried to make moves into tennis. It first hosted an exhibition tournament - the Diriyah Tennis Cup - in 2019 and it returned last year and featured British No 1 Cameron Norrie.
And Andy Murray's agent revealed the three-time Grand Slam winner turned down a seven-figure appearance fee to play in an exhibition match in Saudi Arabia due to concerns over the country's human rights record.
Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal were scheduled to compete in an exhibition event in Saudi Arabia in 2018 but it was called off due to the Spaniard being injured. Roger Federer had already rejected an offer to participate.
There has also been interest from Saudis in hosting a WTA Tour event, though that has yet to materialise.
Meanwhile, a deal had been done for Riyadh to stage a World Snooker Tour event in October 2020 with a £2.5m prize pot before the Covid-19 pandemic wrecked those plans.
And in 2029 Saudi Arabia will host the Asian Winter Games for the first time.
