Saudi Arabia just secured the 2034 FIFA World Cup — but its aggressive ambition to be involved in as much of professional sports as possible shows no sign of slowing.
New reports point to efforts by Saudi Arabia to potentially invest billions of dollars into one sport to which it has no major ties — and another in which it’s looking to expand.
The Indian Premier League has held talks with Saudi officials about injecting as much as $5 billion into the world’s top international cricket competition, according to Bloomberg. Under a potential deal, the IPL could be valued at $30 billion, with Saudi Arabia acquiring a significant minority stake in the league. This would mark the first Saudi investment in cricket.
Saudi Arabia is also trying to buy two major tennis tournaments — the Miami and Madrid Opens, per The Athletic. Currently owned by Endeavor’s IMG agency, both are top-level events on the men’s ATP and women’s WTA tours, falling just behind the four Grand Slams. The two tournaments could be worth hundreds of millions of dollars each.
The country launched the Diriyah Tennis Cup in 2019, and is the new host of the under-21 Next Gen ATP Finals through 2027. It has also explored investing individually in the ATP and WTA tours, though neither prospect has materialized yet.
Beyond the new interests, Saudi Arabia is invested in LIV Golf, Formula 1, Premier League club Newcastle United, and MMA.
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