Business of Sport 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 […] January 18, 2024
ANALYSIS Economy 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 […] January 1, 2024
Business of Sport 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 […] December 31, 2023
Giga-projects 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 esports district in Saudi Arabia. The kingdom is striving to become a global gaming and sports centre by 2030. The upcoming gaming and esports district, which is claimed to be the first in the world, is part of the launch […] December 15, 2023
Tourism 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 […] December 14, 2023
Business of Sport 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. […] December 8, 2023
Business of Sport 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 […] November 27, 2023
INTERVIEW Real Estate UAE buyers help ex-England footballer hit property goals The former Manchester United and England footballer Gary Neville has revealed that one in five properties in his luxury residential development have been snapped up by UAE investors. Neville, a Champions League-winning defender turned entrepreneur, visited the Emirates this week to gauge Middle Eastern interest in his £400 million ($501 million) hotel and apartment project […] November 26, 2023
Analysis Business of Sport Tourism up, growth down: a year on from the Qatar World Cup A year ago, the Al Bayt stadium, 35 kilometres outside Doha, hosted the opening game of the first World Cup ever held in the Middle East. More than 67,000 supporters thronged the giant complex to watch Qatar’s first game against Ecuador. The stadium will come into its own again in January when it hosts the […] November 20, 2023
Leisure & Hospitality Real Madrid World theme park set to open in Dubai Real Madrid World – the first-ever football theme park – will open in Dubai. The amusement park will have “adrenaline-pumping themed attractions, immersive experiences and fan engagement opportunities, celebrating football and basketball the Real Madrid way,” Dubai Parks and Resorts and Real Madrid said in a joint statement. Real Madrid World will host new experiences, including family-friendly attractions, […] November 17, 2023
Business of Sport F1 promoter predicts strong turnout for Abu Dhabi GP The promoter of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix is predicting strong attendance for this month’s race despite the continuing conflict in Israel and Gaza. Several events in the UAE and across the Middle East have been cancelled or postponed because of the war, but Formula One’s governing body has dismissed speculation that the final race […] November 17, 2023
Business of Sport Saudi Arabia seeks a stake in $30bn Indian cricket league Saudi Arabia has shown interest in buying a multi-billion-dollar stake in the Indian Premier League (IPL) following various investments in professional sports such as football and golf. Advisors of Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman spoke to Indian government officials on moving the IPL into a holding company worth $30 billion, Bloomberg reported. The […] November 5, 2023
Business of Sport Saudi Arabia to host 2034 World Cup Saudi Arabia is to be formally declared as the host of the 2034 Fifa World Cup after Australia said on Tuesday – the final day for bids – that it would not submit an application. Football Australia said in a statement that it had decided to focus instead on bids for the 2026 Women’s Asian […] October 31, 2023
Opinion Business of Sport Why the Gulf should bid for the 2035 Rugby World Cup For the region and for the future of the sport, a Gulf Rugby World Cup makes perfect sense October 26, 2023
Video length: 07:23 FII Banking & Finance World Bank to Wall Street, FII attracts financial elite Slickly choreographed dancers clad in futuristic outfits and a teenage boy in a shiny tuxedo singing a power ballad set the stage for the seventh Future Investment Initiative (FII) in Riyadh, and all at nine o’clock in the morning. However, there were immediately more serious themes at play at the event, which opened on Tuesday. […] October 25, 2023
Business of Sport Saudi Arabia launches esports world cup Saudi Arabia has announced the launch of the Esports World Cup, to be held annually in Riyadh from 2024. The world cup is part of the kingdom’s National Gaming and Esports Strategy, designed to increase the sector’s contribution to the country’s GDP by more than SAR50 billion ($13.3 billion) by 2030, establish 250 game developers […] October 24, 2023
Leisure & Hospitality Manchester United tumbles on Ratcliffe’s stake bid Shares of Manchester United fell as much as 23 percent on Monday after reports that British billionaire Jim Ratcliffe is looking to acquire only a 25 percent stake in the football club raised concerns that a buyout by Qatar’s Sheikh Jassim bin Hamad al Thani could be off the table. The shares were last down […] October 17, 2023
Video length: 23:02 Video Business of Sport Business of sport: Where the Middle East money goes The World Economic Forum has reported that the Middle East’s sports industry is expected to grow by 8.7 percent by 2026, compared with global sector growth of 3.3 per cent over the same period. AGBI recently hosted the Business of Sport roundtable covering a wide range of pressing topics, including M&A activities; outbound vs inbound […] October 15, 2023
Business of Sport Qatari sheikh withdraws bid to buy Manchester United Qatar’s Sheikh Jassim bin Hamad Al Thani has withdrawn his interest in buying UK football club Manchester United, according to media reports. Sheikh Jassim, the son of a former prime minister of Qatar, had bid £5 billion ($6.06 billion) for the club, but further talks this week have broken down, BBC Sport reported. Reuters sources said that […] October 15, 2023
Analysis Business of Sport Turkey chosen as co-host for football’s Euro 2032 Turkey on Tuesday was awarded co-hosting rights for the Euro 2032 men’s soccer tournament in a decision that will provide a further boost to the country’s resurgent tourist industry and bring in much-needed additional foreign currency. Turkey had sought to host Euro 2028 or Euro 2032 in their entirety but in July launched a joint […] October 11, 2023
Analysis Business of Sport Morocco must now tackle cost of World Cup win Winning the right to co-host the World Cup in 2030 will have Morocco walking an economic tightrope, experts say. Morocco will become only the second African nation to host the event, albeit alongside five other countries spread across three continents. In celebration of the 100th anniversary of the World Cup, the 2030 edition will be […] October 6, 2023
Business of Sport Saudi Arabia reveals 2034 football World Cup bid Saudi Arabia has officially thrown its hat into the ring to become the host nation of the 2034 Fifa World Cup. It had been thought the kingdom was going to launch a joint bid with Greece and Egypt to co-host the 2030 tournament, but these rumours proved to be unfounded. The 2030 event, a celebration […] October 5, 2023
