Today French club “PSG” and Saudi Arabia’s “All-Star XI” will play a friendly match. Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo will compete against each other.
Today’s match between the two unprecedented players from Argentina and Portugal in the Saudi Arabian city of Riyadh proves the growing influence of the Gulf countries, especially Saudi Arabia in football.
Since 2011, PSG has been owned by a Qatari investor who is said to have ties to the Qatari royal family. Thanks to this investment, PSG had global superstars such as Messi, Kylian, Mbappe and Neymar.In the meantime, Ronaldo will be part of the Saudi All-Star X1 because of his two-and-a-half-year contract of $200 million with Saudi club His Al-Nasr.
A fan bought tickets for this friendly match in auction for $2.6 million. It is also a sign that the center of world football is moving from Europe and Latin America to the Middle East.
In the past, heavyweights from Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar have invested in traditional assets such as overseas real estate and companies. But now it’s focus is on the sports industry. Experts say this is a way to diversify the economy along with diplomacy to achieve soft power by royal family.
Over the years, there has been a flurry of investments in major English clubs. For example, Newcastle United was acquired by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund. The list of disputed payments has grown longer. The oil and gas industries of Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar and Bahrain have made these countries financially powerful when it comes to world sports. Gulf countries have their sights set on the Winter Olympics. Saudi Arabia won the right to host the 2029 Asian Winter Games last October.
According to the schedule, these will be held in Newm. This is a new city in Saudi Arabia, reportedly built at a cost of $500 billion. The city, he said, will be completed by 2026, with ski slopes in the middle of the desert.
Qatar’s hosting of the World Cup was seen by many as a great success for the Gulf nations.This suggests that more sporting events may be held here in the future.
Saudi Arabia is reportedly considering hosting the 2030 FIFA World Cup alongside Egypt and Greece. Meanwhile, sports watchers believe Qatar’s capital, Doha, can host 2036 Olympic and Paralympic Games.
