At what cost? Saudi Arabia and soccer

The Athletic FC Podcast

The Athletic

Football, Soccer,, Sports, Soccer

4 • 1.2K Ratings

🗓️ 6 July 2025

⏱️ 61 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

There's been two football tournaments in the United States this summer, the Club World Cup and the Gold Cup. Both with an ostensible Saudi feel, all part of grand plan to invest heavily in sport backed by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

Adam Leventhal has travelled to Miami, Austin, and Las Vegas to witness this soft power at play. Hear from Saudi players and fans who celebrate the exposure afforded by these tournaments, but also, crucially, those who fear its impact. All with an eye on the future when Saudi Arabia will be hosting the 2034 Men's World Cup.

Host: Adam Leventhal

Producer: Jesse Howard

Exec Producer: Abi Paterson

Featuring footage from: DAZN, Fox News, CBS News, France 24 News, FIFA

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Transcript

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0:00.0	The Athletic FC Podcast Network.
0:09.4	There's been two football tournaments in the United States this summer.
0:13.8	The Club World Cup.
0:14.9	Bellingham with a terrific truck,
0:17.6	Messia!
0:24.1	And the Conquer Calf Gold Cup. Diego Luna deflected in.
0:26.9	Diego Luna getting it done.
0:29.2	Both had a Saudi Arabian influence on the field.
0:32.9	A huge result for Al-Hilal.
0:38.8	But the link was even stronger off it.
0:41.8	The tournaments were commercially strengthened by the kingdom's wealth.
0:46.1	That's the plan, right?
0:47.5	They want to be everywhere, that when you turn on soccer, when you turn on football, that you see the Saudi brand.
0:54.7	It's all part of a grand plan to invest heavily in sport that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed
1:00.0	bin Salman or MBS is open about.
1:03.5	If it's sport washing going to increase my GDP by 1% and then we'll continue doing
1:07.7	sport washing.
1:09.6	But there are elements of what happens in Saudi that remain in the shadows.
1:14.6	If we let this slide, we will all be next. I will be next.
1:19.6	I was literally told that I will be next.
1:22.6	Yet, Saudi Arabia moves forward towards hosting a World Cup and even greater geopolitical influence.
1:32.3	Today we reaffirm this important bond and we take the next steps to make our relationship
	...

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