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Running may be the next sport that Saudi Arabia showers hundreds of millions of dollars on.
Track’s international governing body has held talks with SURJ Sports Investments—a subsidiary of the country’s Public Investment Fund—about investing in a new company to manage the sport’s commercial rights, Reuters reported Wednesday.
The deal would value the new commercial arm at more than $600 million, according to Reuters.
“We are delighted to be in this position even if not all discussions end in a partnership. Where partnerships are agreed, we announce them,” a WA spokesperson told Reuters.
Spokespeople for World Athletics and PIF did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
The Saudi sports portfolio already includes ownership of LIV Golf and Premier League club Newcastle United and investment in the WTA and a new boxing league. PIF also recently bought a stake in DAZN, a prominent sports streamer. Saudi Arabia will host the 2034 men’s World Cup, a tournament it was awarded in an uncontested vote that raised concerns about corruption and longstanding human rights issues in the kingdom.
Though World Athletics stages the every-other-year world championships in track and field, its Diamond League circuit is facing serious competition in 2025. Grand Slam Track launches this spring with salaries and prize money that exceed the Diamond League, and other potential competitors, like Mo Farah’s RunGP and Alexis Ohanian’s Athlos, are also set to host events this year. Grand Slam recently secured a media rights deal with the CW, while the Diamond League will air on paid streaming site FloSports this year, angering some athletes and fans.
World Athletics has been ahead of the game in at least one respect. A year ago, it became the first sports governing body to pay athletes for medaling at the Olympics, with gold paying $50,000.
In December, World Athletics president Sebastian Coe detailed plans for the governing body’s own new event called the World Athletics Ultimate Championship, which he plans to hold the first of in 2026 with a prize pot of $10 million. Coe has said his sport needs to find ways to “stay relevant” to younger fans.
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