The Saudi Arabian Olympic Committee raised $694 million to support the Kingdom’s sports federations, Saudi minister of sport and committee president Prince Abdulaziz bin Turki Al-Faisal announced.
As part of the nation’s Quality of Life program, the funding will focus on improving the Kingdom’s sports industry before it hosts the Asian Games in 2034.
The Kingdom jumped from 32 sports federations in 2015 to 91 this year. If a federation meets certain criteria, it will be eligible to receive financial support from the committee.
- The capital will help create an infrastructure to support the federations.
- It will contribute to the nation’s gross domestic product at an 0.8% increase.
- The funds will also aim to boost community involvement in sport to 40% by 2030.
Federations may receive capital for core funding like operating and salary costs, and others will receive financial rewards for exemplary results like winning Olympic medals.
Prince Abdulaziz also announced an Elite Athlete Development Program on Wednesday to improve athletes’ performance levels and create an athlete network, targeting 180 male and female athletes in its first year and adding another 300 by 2023.
The committee hopes the changes will help promote sports tourism in the Saudi Arabia.
