The network

Saudi Arabia’s sports strategy is orchestrated by a select but highly influential network of individuals holding pivotal roles within both the state and in sports. Play the Game has mapped this inner circle, highlighting governance challenges, conflicts of interest, and threats to the integrity of global sports.

Heading up Saudi Arabia’s sports strategy is Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman Al-Saud, whose centralised power extends across many of the state’s most vital entities and organisations. As chairman of the Public Investment Fund (PIF), one of the world’s largest sovereign wealth funds, he has transformed the PIF into the driving force behind the Kingdom’s expansive sporting investments. 

According to Play the Game’s research, the fund now boasts a portfolio of 346 sponsorships in sports either directly or through its subsidiaries, including ownership of football clubs like Newcastle United.

Under Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s direct control, the PIF has not only spearheaded Saudi Arabia’s aggressive sports strategy but has also been linked to severe human rights abuses. 

A November 2024 report by Human Rights Watch revealed that the Crown Prince has used the PIF’s economic power to commit serious human rights violations, facilitate forced evictions, raze neighbourhoods, and the PIF was even implicated in the 2018 murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi.

The report also identified violations linked to some of the PIF’s most high-profile megaprojects, including the Neom project – a futuristic megacity and a key player in the Kingdom’s sports strategy. The report further noted that the regime’s sports investments seek to garner uncritical foreign support for the Crown Prince’s agenda, spread disinformation about the country’s human rights record, neutralise scrutiny, and silence critics.

These revelations underline the urgent need for greater scrutiny of the Kingdom’s use of its immense financial influence on the global stage and the pivotal role sports play in advancing its geopolitical ambitions.

Yasir Al-Rumayyan

While Mohammed bin Salman’s prominent role is widely known, fewer people are familiar with the next tier of individuals driving Saudi Arabia’s growing influence in international sports.

One such figure is Yasir Al-Rumayyan, a trusted confidant of Mohammed bin Salman. Al-Rumayyan has risen to prominence under the Crown Prince’s leadership and holds influential positions which place him at the core of the Saudi state and its sports agenda. 

As governor of the PIF and chairman of Aramco, the state-owned oil giant, Al-Rumayyan oversees some of the Kingdom’s most significant investments in global sports.

Al-Rumayyan’s vast portfolio extends far beyond these roles. For instance, he also serves as chairman of the Saudi Golf Federation and Golf Saudi, as a board member of the Saudi Olympic and Paralympic Committee, and recently he was appointed chairman of Riyadh Air – a PIF-owned airline which sponsors Atlético Madrid, the WTA Finals, and Concacaf.

These overlapping roles situate him at the nexus of entities driving Saudi Arabia’s sports ambitions but also raise serious concerns about governance and conflicts of interest. For example, his leadership roles in entities like the PIF and Aramco, which sponsor overlapping events such as the Aramco Team Series, underscore the blurred lines between sports and state interests.

In football, these entanglements are even more evident. PIF-owned Newcastle United, where Al-Rummayan is also chairman, has secured sponsorship deals with several Saudi state-owned entities, including the airline company Saudia and three PIF-owned companies: Sela, Noon, and Savvy Games Group, where Al-Rumayyan also sits on the board.

Moreover, he is deeply involved in multi-club structures within the Saudi Pro League – where numerous clubs are state-owned – which amplifies concerns over transfer market manipulation and match integrity. 

For example, Transfermarkt data indicate that in the 2023/2024 season, five out of 20 player transfers to Aramco-owned Al-Qadsiah came from other PIF-owned clubs. Similarly, Newcastle United sold Allan Saint-Maximin to Al-Ahli, another PIF-owned team. Additionally, at the time of finalising this report, nine players had moved from PIF-owned Al-Hilal to other state-owned clubs in the 2024/2025 season.

Such ownership structures also jeopardize match integrity, especially as Saudi Pro League clubs compete for spots in the AFC Champions League, which happens to be sponsored by the PIF-backed Neom initiative. State ownership of multiple clubs creates potential for the Saudi government to make choices about preferred results in matches between the state-owned clubs.

Yasir Al-Rumayyan's intricate web of influence and multifaceted roles exemplify the deep interconnections between Saudi Arabia’s state apparatus and its sports strategy.

Ahmed Al-Khateeb

Another key figure in Saudi Arabia’s sports strategy is Ahmed Al-Khateeb, the Kingdom’s minister of tourism. His influence extends far beyond tourism with leadership roles across state entities like the PIF, Neom, and Red Sea Global, all deeply intertwined with Saudi Arabia’s global sports investments.

Under Al-Khateeb’s leadership, Visit Saudi, a tourism bureau powered by the Saudi Tourism Authority, which he also chairs, has become a cornerstone of the Kingdom’s sports strategy.
It has secured sponsorships for high-profile events including the Dakar Rally, the Formula 1 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, major boxing bouts featuring Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk, and Spain’s top football league, La Liga.

Visit Saudi is also an Official Global Partner of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) until December 2024, leveraging the partnership to enhance Saudi Arabia’s image through sport. The partnership extends to a range of AFC competitions including youth and women’s tournaments, bolstering the Kingdom’s influence across Asia. 

This collaboration builds on a multi-year partnership with the AFC that began in 2021 when Neom, where Al-Khateeb sits on the board, was announced as a sponsor for the AFC – a deal which was extended in 2024 through 2029. These ventures reflect Al-Khateeb’s strategic ability to align tourism with the Kingdom’s broader political and sports ambitions.

Arguably, Al-Khateeb’s most high-profile achievement is the partnership announced in 2022 with Argentinian superstar Lionel Messi, naming him as Saudi Arabia’s tourism ambassador. 

Investigative journalists Karim Zidan and Tariq Panja later revealed in The New York Times that Messi stood to receive 25 million US dollars over three years for minimal commitments of work: a few commercial appearances, social media posts, and all-expenses-paid family vacations to the Kingdom.

The contract also included a clause prohibiting Messi from making any statements that might ‘tarnish’ Saudi Arabia’s image. This mirrors the non-disparagement clause included in the framework agreement between the PGA Tour and the PIF, which drew scrutiny during a hearing held by the U.S. Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations in July 2023. 

In a nation consistently ranked among the worst for free speech, such restrictions underscore how Saudi Arabia’s growing influence in sports risks limiting athletes' voices - a troubling trend as the Kingdom deepens its grip on global sports.

The prince and the princess

Two pivotal figures at the heart of Saudi Arabia's sports strategy are Prince Abdulaziz bin Turki Al-Saud, the Kingdom's minister of sports, and Princess Reema bint Bandar Al-Saud. 

Both play critical roles in advancing Saudi Arabia’s ambitions within the Olympic movement and international sports, but their overlapping governmental and sporting roles highlight significant concerns about conflicts of interest and the autonomy of sports.

Prince Abdulaziz bin Turki Al-Saud is a former racing driver and member of the House of Saud who has headed up the Saudi Ministry of Sports since February 2020. 

His influence extends well beyond his ministerial duties, as he also holds an array of high-ranking sports positions: President of the Saudi Olympic & Paralympic Committee, vice president of the Olympic Council of Asia, president of the Union of Arab National Olympic Committees, president of the Union of Arab Football Federation, president of the Islamic Solidarity Sports Federation, and he is also one of Asia’s four representatives in the World Anti-Doping Agency.

These influential roles place him at the centre of the Kingdom's multifaceted sporting pursuits, while also illustrating the blurred lines between state governance and sports leadership in Saudi Arabia.

Similarly, Princess Reema bint Bandar Al-Saud exemplifies the fusion of diplomacy, politics, and sports. 

Appointed as Saudi Arabia’s ambassador to the United States in 2019, she became the first female ambassador in the nation’s history. Beyond her diplomatic role, she is a key figure in Saudi Arabia’s sports strategy, serving as a board member of the Saudi Olympic & Paralympic Committee, the Saudi Sports for All Federation, and Mahd Sports Academy. 

However, it is her position as a member of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) - and her roles on the IOC's commissions for gender equality, diversity and inclusion as well as sustainability and legacy – that elevate her importance to Saudi Arabia’s global sports strategy.

While Princess Reema publicly advocates for women's rights and inclusion, this stance starkly contrasts with the systemic gender inequality and the severe restrictions on women's rights that persist in Saudi Arabia – a glaring disparity in a nation touting progress.

The roles held by both Prince Abdulaziz and Princess Reema challenge the autonomy of sports organisations, a principle enshrined in Rule 27 of the Olympic Charter which mandates that national Olympic Committees (NOC) resist external political pressures. Their simultaneous positions as government representatives and sports leaders raise critical questions about conflicts of interest, questions of allegiance, and the so-called autonomy of sport that the Olympic movement so ardently promotes.

Will both Prince Abdulaziz and Princess Reema be willing and able to effectively uphold the autonomy of the NOC as a government representative if a situation arises where the interests of the Saudi government and those of the Olympic movement diverge politically?

Turki Al-Sheikh

The last person to be highlighted here is Turki Al-Sheikh who has risen to become a linchpin figure in the Kingdom’s entertainment and sporting ambitions, particularly in 2024. 

As chairman of the General Entertainment Authority, Al-Sheikh oversees some of Saudi Arabia’s most prominent sporting and cultural events, including the Riyadh Season which is a six-month festival of sports, culture, and entertainment. 

His influence extends across multiple domains, most notably in boxing, making him a central player in Saudi Arabia’s strategic use of sport for political and cultural leverage.