Saudi Arabia’s football clubs are all to be privatized, the Ministry of Sports has announced.
All football clubs in the Saudi Pro League are set to be privatised, the Saudi Sports Ministry has announced, after a first wave marked by an influx of international stars.
Following the sale of the four biggest clubs in the Saudi Arabian league last year, six clubs will be put up for sale in August and eight more later, according to a statement released on Wednesday.
The Saudi Pro League has a total of 18 clubs. Four of them – Al Hilal, Al Nassr, Al Ahli and Al Ittihad – were majority-bought in 2023 by the Public Investment Fund (PIF), the sovereign wealth fund of the oil-rich kingdom.
This injection of capital allowed them to attract great players like Cristiano Ronaldo, Karim Benzema and Neymar, with huge contracts.
Saudi clubs, including the four owned by the PIF, spent $957 million (around €886 million) on transfers last summer, ranking second only to the English Premier League.
However, this resulted in an unbalanced season, marked by Al Hilal’s world record 34 consecutive wins.
Al Zulfi, Al Nahda, Al Okhdood, Al Ansar, Al Orouba and Al Kholoud were chosen to be next on the list based on their “level of operational readiness, their financial health, their administrative capacities and their sports facilities“, the ministry said.
The first wave brought about a “significant growth in commercial revenues” he said, adding that the goal was now to generate 1.8 billion Saudi riyals ($480 million or 444.5 million euros) per year.
According to the ministry, the privatization is part of efforts to “to accelerate the transformation of the sports sector“, as the world’s top crude exporter seeks to reduce its dependence on oil and improve its image.
