Saudi Arabia's multi-billion dollar football powerhouse bet
Business Daily
BBC
4.4 • 816 Ratings
🗓️ 6 November 2023
⏱️ 18 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
The Saudi Pro League has attracted some of the top players from around the world - with transfer fees and salaries amounting to millions of dollars.
We travel to Saudi Arabia to look at the country's ambitious plan to become a global football powerhouse - is it an economic move or simply sportswashing?
With Saudi Arabia now it's looking set to be confirmed as the host of the World Cup in 2034, we look at its relationship with football.
Presenter: Sameer Hashmi
(Image: Saudi football club Al Hilal welcomes Brazilian football star Neymar with an introductory ceremony at King Fahd International Stadium in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia on August 19, 2023. Credit: Getty Images)
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Today we are heading to Riyadh, the capital of Saudi Arabia, where a new football league is using big wages to try and crack some of the biggest stars from all over the world. |
| 0:09.9 | I think everyone now is excited to see this league. |
| 0:12.8 | Everyone now is that shows the game, so it's really good to be here. |
| 0:16.7 | I'll be looking into the popularity and longevity of the Saudi Pro League. |
| 0:20.5 | I'm not convinced. I've been sort of trying to track and longevity of the Saudi Pro League. I'm not convinced I've been sort of trying to track media of interest in the Saudi Pro League. |
| 0:25.3 | And once you get past the transfers, there is almost no interest. |
| 0:28.4 | An ambitious project for a football-loving nation, or as some critics have said, |
| 0:32.9 | simply sports watching over a poor human rights record. |
| 0:36.2 | People tend to talk about the football first and other things second. |
| 0:40.6 | And Saudi Arabia is not alone, not unique in doing that. |
| 0:44.6 | Do I believe it is strategic and deliberate? |
| 0:48.2 | Probably. |
| 0:49.1 | That's all coming up in today's episode. |
| 0:52.8 | God! |
| 0:53.6 | We're going to! in today's episode. |
| 1:02.0 | The first thing I noticed when I walked into Al-Hilal's home, |
| 1:03.9 | the King Fahad International Stadium, |
| 1:05.9 | was a sea of blue inside. |
| 1:09.4 | More than 65,000 ecstatic fans had turned up in the club's traditional jersey. |
| 1:12.0 | This was one of the most significant days in the Saudi team's 57-year history. |
| 1:16.8 | The mercury was soaring above 40 degrees Celsius, but that didn't deter the fans. |
| 1:22.2 | They waited patiently. |
... |
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