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Business of Sport

Sports business news from the Middle East. All the important stories, exclusive interviews, plus authoritative opinion and analysis

Lauren James of Chelsea FC celebrates a goal against Manchester City in the FA Women's League Cup semi-final. Oman Air is absent from the list of sponsors on the club's website

Oman Air and Chelsea FC ‘terminate sponsorship deal’

A sponsorship deal between Oman Air and English Premier League club Chelsea FC has reportedly been terminated less than a year after it was signed. The three-year agreement was believed to be worth about £2 million ($2.5 million) a year and was announced last July. The partnership, which made the flag carrier the club’s global […]

Francis Ngannou (left) fighting Tyson Fury in Riyadh last year for the heavyweight title

Saudi Arabia gives boxing a chance to reinvent itself

World heavyweight champion Tyson Fury is no stranger to hyperbole. Thus only a few eyebrows were raised when he boldly claimed that boxing would be “dead” if it wasn’t for Saudi Arabia. The sport was looking decidedly punch-drunk before Saudi Arabia entered the ring almost six years ago. The first boxing card in Jeddah that […]

Former Chicago Cubs player Andrelton Simmons, pictured here in 2022, is one of Baseball United's co-owners. The company will launch franchises in three Saudi cities

Baseball United to launch Saudi franchises

Professional baseball teams are to be launched in Riyadh, Jeddah and Dammam as part of plans by Baseball United to expand into Saudi Arabia. Baseball United was unveiled in August last year with ambitious proposals to launch the first professional baseball league in the Middle East, focusing initially on matches in the UAE, then Qatar, […]

The racetrack at Qiddiya is designed by Austrian former Formula One driver Alex Wurz and German circuit designer Hermann Tilke

Qiddiya’s new racetrack bids for world motorsports crown

Saudi giga-project Qiddiya will host a new racetrack in an attempt to become one of the world’s top motorsport venues. Located in Qiddiya city, the speed park track is slated to host the world’s most prestigious racing events, Qiddiya Investment Company, the project developer, said in a statement. Designed by Austrian former Formula One driver […]

Crowd, Person, Adult ATP chief executive officer Massimo Calvelli and PIF head of corporate affairs Kevin Foster sign the sponsorship agreement

Saudi wealth fund becomes sponsor for ATP Tour  

Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund has become the official naming partner of the ATP rankings, part of its wider sponsorship of men’s tennis governing body. The Public Investment Fund will partner with ATP Tour events in Indian Wells, Miami, Madrid, Beijing and the Nitto ATP Finals, in addition to the Next Gen ATP Finals, hosted […]

Emirates basketball NBA cup

Emirates airline signs big US basketball sponsorship deal

Emirates, the Dubai airline, has signed a sponsorship deal with the National Basketball Association in the United States that will see the NBA’s in-season tournament renamed the Emirates NBA Cup. Emirates will become the association’s official airline partner and referees’ kits will feature the airline’s logo. The airline’s patch will also be featured on the […]

Helmet, People, Person

Saudi Arabia nears deal to create new cycling league  

SRJ Sports Investments, wholly owned by the Public Investment Fund (PIF), has backed a new cycling league, Reuters reported, citing three people familiar with the matter. The company, founded last year, is negotiating a potential investment of €250 million ($270 million) in the venture, which is spearheaded by major European cycling teams. If successful, this […]

Arsenal's Declan Rice in action. Dubai real estate developer Sobha Realty has secured the naming rights for Arsenal's training ground

Sobha Realty strikes sponsorship deal with Arsenal

Dubai real estate developer Sobha Realty has secured the naming rights for the training ground of English Premier League football club Arsenal. Arsenal’s facility in Hertfordshire will be known as the Sobha Realty Training Centre. It is the first time the naming rights have been sold. The deal is part of Sobha’s plan to expand […]

Gloucester score against Leicester Tigers during a Gallagher Premiership match. PIF is said to be interested in buying a stake in both teams

Saudi’s PIF ‘in talks’ to invest in British rugby

Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund is said to be in talks to buy stakes in four British rugby clubs.   British media has reported that discussions are taking place to pay a total of £60 million ($76 million) for shares in a quartet of top-tier clubs: Gloucester, Leicester Tigers, Newcastle Falcons and Northampton Saints.  This […]

The Saudi fitness sector has growth potential as currently gym members make up only 3.7 percent of the population

Fitness brands shape up for Saudi expansion plans

GymNation, founded in Dubai, has revealed plans to open 50 new fitness centres in Saudi Arabia as it seeks to capitalise on the kingdom’s billion-dollar fitness industry. The mid-market brand was set up six years ago and currently operates 11 gyms in the emirate, with a further six set to open before the summer. Founder […]

Seven launches Formula E branded indoor karting venues

Saudi Entertainment Ventures (Seven), a wholly owned subsidiary of the Public Investment Fund (PIF), and London-headquartered Formula E will jointly build multiple Formula E-branded indoor karting venues across the kingdom. The Formula E karting attractions are set to be built at four of Seven entertainment destinations in Riyadh, Jeddah, Dammam and Abha. Each attraction will […]

seven-time World Snooker Championship winner Ronnie O’Sullivan is among the top-rank players taking part in the Saudi event

Saudi ‘golden ball’ rule cues up snooker controversy

Saudi Arabia will host its first major snooker tournament in Riyadh in March, though the deal has aroused controversy because of a new “golden ball” rule.  The Riyadh Season World Masters of Snooker is the latest in a series of top sports events the kingdom is organising during the first months of 2024.  The Riyadh […]

Electric vehicles on display in London at the launch of a partnership between PIF and Formula E, Extreme E and E1 this week

PIF’s new deal to spark surge in e-motorsports

Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) has announced a multi-year partnership with Formula E, Extreme E and E1 powerboat racing to boost the profile of sustainable electric motorsports in the kingdom. The Electric 360 programme is part of the sovereign fund’s carbon reduction initiatives.  PIF ranks first in the Middle East for sustainability among the […]

Ryan Bader Saudi martial arts

Saudi Arabia clinches martial arts champions contest

Saudi Arabia has signed a contract this week to host the first ever showdown between mixed martial arts champions of the Professional Fighters League (PFL) and Bellator MMA, the American mixed martial arts promotion. The fights at Riyadh’s Kingdom Arena on February 24 are part of the country’s push to be at the forefront of […]

Head, Person, Face

From sports to oil cuts: Saudi Arabia’s year in review

As the curtain comes down on 2023 and Saudi Arabia moves closer to its Vision 2030 deadline, AGBI looks back at the highlights and notable events of the past twelve months in the kingdom. Saudi Arabia wins hosting rights for major events  Saudi Arabia’s drive to draw global attention to its development efforts scored important […]

ADQ signs sponsorship pact with Egyptian football club

Abu Dhabi sovereign wealth fund ADQ has signed a multi-year sponsorship agreement with Pyramids Football Club (Pyramids FC), an Egyptian Premier League professional sports club. The fund will be the official partner of Pyramids FC, reinforcing ADQ’s position as a long-term investor in Egypt. The financial details of the deal were not given. Since its establishment and […]

A rendering of the gaming district in Qiddiya, which will cover more than 500,000 sq m

Qiddiya to host first gaming district in Saudi Arabia

The Qiddiya giga-project, near Saudi Arabia’s capital Riyadh, will host the first multi-use gaming and e-sports district in Saudi Arabia. The kingdom is striving to become a global gaming and sports centre by 2030. The upcoming gaming and e-sports district, which is claimed to be the first in the world, is part of the launch […]

Golf course project being built near Riyadh

Golf course emerges from the desert at Diriyah giga-project

Saudi Arabia is developing a luxury golf and equestrian resort outside Riyadh as part of the Diriyah giga-project, with three major hotel brands announcing this week that they were taking part.  Aman, Oberoi and Six Senses are the first hotels to start construction in the mountainous rocky land on the edge of the desert west […]

Lionel Messi and Kylian Mbappé went head to head in the World Cup final as PSG players

Qatari owners of PSG sell minority stake in French club

The Qatari owners of Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) will sell a minority stake in the French football club to US investment group Arctos Partners. No details were disclosed in the official statement. However, the Financial Times reported that the talks started a year ago and Arctos will buy up to 12.5 percent, citing two informed sources. […]

Red Bull’s Max Verstappen wins Abu Dhabi GP

Red Bull’s triple world champion Max Verstappen wrapped up Formula One’s most dominant season with a record-extending 19th win in 22 races at the season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix on Sunday. The pole-to-flag victory, for the fourth year in a row under the Yas Marina floodlights, left the 26-year-old alone in third place in Formula […]