SAUDI PRO LEAGUE
Saudi crown prince says he does not care about ‘sportswashing’ claims
Saudi Arabian Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman said he does not care about allegations of “sportswashing” against the kingdom and that he will continue funding sport if it adds to the country’s gross domestic product (GDP).
The allegation of “sportswashing” is levelled at countries perceived to be using sport to improve their tarnished image abroad.
“If sportswashing (is) going to increase my GDP by 1%, then we’ll continue doing sportswashing,” the crown prince told Fox News.
Saudi Arabia has made massive investments in soccer, golf Formula One, boxing and tennis in recent years through its Public Wealth Fund, which is chaired by the crown prince, the kingdom’s de facto ruler since 2015.
Critics accuse the country of using its sovereign wealth fund to engage in “sportswashing” in the face of heavy criticism of Saudi Arabia’s human rights record.
Saudi Arabia denies accusations of human rights abuses and says it protects its national security through its laws.
When asked specifically about the term “sportswashing”, the crown prince said: “I don’t care. I have 1% GDP growth from sports and I’m aiming for another 1.5%. Call it whatever you want – we’re going to get that other 1.5%.”
PIF owns an 80% stake in Premier League club Newcastle United and funded LIV Golf, which recruited high-profile players from the PGA Tour and Europe’s DP World Tour before announcing an agreement to merge and form one unified commercial entity.
It also took a majority ownership stake in four of the country’s top soccer clubs in June before teams in the Saudi Pro League spent nearly $1 billion in the transfer window which closed on Sept. 7.
Saudi Arabia has been hosting a Formula One Grand Prix since 2021 and has also held boxing world title fights. It will stage a professional tennis event for the first time this year.
-Reuters
Former Super Eagles’ coach, Jose Peseiro is on the line to coach Saudi Arabia Pro League first tier team, Al Riyadh.
Information from the oil rich country indicate that Peseiro who had previously coached the Saudi Arabia national team is one of the two being considered to replace Odair Hellmann at the Saudi club which placed 14th at the end of last season.
It is gathered that Peseiro has a competitor in Spanish cooach, Javier Pereira who is also lineup for the job.
Peseiro had previously managed Al Hilal in 2006 and later coached the Saudi national team during their 2010 World Cup qualifying campaign.
Al Nasr’s Cristiano Ronaldo capped his first full Saudi Pro League season in style as he broke the record for the most goals scored in one campaign on Monday.
The Portuguese 39-year-old scored a brace in his side’s 4-2 win over Al Ittihad on the final matchday to bring his league tally this season to 35 goals.
The previous record was held by former Al Nasr forward and Moroccan international Abderrazak Hamdallah, who scored 34 goals in 2018-19.
Ronaldo, who played for Sporting, Manchester United, Real Madrid and Juventus, joined Al Nasr in January 2023.
-Reuters
Undefeated Al-Hilal won a record-extending 19th Saudi Pro League title on Saturday with a 4-1 victory over Al-Hazem to reclaim the trophy from Al-Ittihad who won it last season.
Jorge Jesus’ side hold a 12-point advantage over Cristiano Ronaldo’s Al-Nassr in second with three matches remaining.
Aleksandar Mitrovic gave Al-Hilal the lead from the penalty spot after 15 minutes but Faiz Selemani netted the equaliser for Al-Hazem in the 34th minute.
However, Jesus’s side took the lead again with an own goal from Ahmed Al-Juwaid in the 39th minute.
Mitrovic scored again in first-half stoppage time and Sergej Milinkovic-Savic scored three minutes later to make it 4-1.
Al-Hilal are chasing the treble having clinched the Saudi Super Cup title in April, and having reached the Saudi King’s Cup final where they will play Al-Nassr.
-Reuters
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