Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund has stepped back from LIV Golf but is ramping up its presence in world soccer, signing on as an “official tournament supporter” of the World Cup and deepening ties with FIFA. The move follows PIF’s heavy spending across sports, from domestic signings of Cristiano Ronaldo, Neymar and Karim Benzema to a stake in broadcaster DAZN through SURJ Sports Investment. This article looks at what the partnership means, how it fits into Saudi strategy, and what it signals about the kingdom’s sporting playbook.
The PIF announcement that it will be an “official tournament supporter” covers World Cup activity across North America and Asia, though the financial terms were not revealed. That omission is notable given how much attention Saudi money has drawn across global sports in recent years. Even without numbers, the move cements a growing relationship between the kingdom and world soccer’s governing body.
Saudi Arabia has already secured the rights to host the 2034 World Cup, a headline-grabbing achievement that underlines the country’s appetite for major events. PIF also served as a commercial partner for last year’s Club World Cup, demonstrating a pattern of sponsorship and event hosting rather than purely club ownership. Those deals feed into a broader strategy to build an international sports footprint.
SURJ Sports Investment, controlled by PIF, owns a stake in the online streamer DAZN, which handled broadcast duties for the Club World Cup. FIFA’s own accounts show television broadcasting rights are a major revenue source, with those deals contributing “the lion’s share” of its annual takings in 2025. That kind of cash flow is exactly what global organizations and broadcasters prize, and it helps explain why PIF is targeting tournament partnerships as well as league and club deals.
On the domestic side, Saudi Arabia has been aggressive in beefing up its football league, signing superstar players and buying Premier League club Newcastle to raise the profile of its domestic game. Bringing in top talent like Cristiano Ronaldo, Neymar and Karim Benzema sent a clear signal: Saudi football wants instant credibility. Those signings were always about more than sport — they were about branding, tourism and building new revenue channels outside oil.
But the kingdom’s sporting investments aren’t limited to soccer. Saudi Arabia has hosted major boxing cards, added a Formula One race to its calendar, and invested in tennis events, creating a year-round slate of international competitions. This multi-sport approach spreads risk and keeps Saudi venues and broadcasters busy, which in turn feeds commercial partnerships and sponsorship pipelines. It’s a modern form of nation branding through spectacle.
The 2022 launch of LIV Golf remains the most disruptive example of Saudi sports spending, luring stars such as Bryson DeChambeau, Phil Mickelson, Brooks Koepka and Dustin Johnson away from established tours. Reports pegged LIV’s total spending to exceed $6 billion by the end of that year, and that level of outlay reshaped contract expectations across sports. Yet PIF’s later decision to pull back from future LIV funding raises questions about longer-term priorities and return on investment.
Despite a slowdown in star transfers to the Saudi league after an initial recruitment dash, PIF maintained that sport plays a “crucial role in the ongoing transformation of Saudi Arabia.” Those words reflect a stated belief that sports can accelerate economic diversification by creating jobs, drawing tourists and building new domestic industries. The logic is straightforward: stage big events, sell broadcast rights and hospitality, and turn global attention into local business growth.
Mohamed AlSayyad, head of corporate brand at PIF, framed the strategy bluntly: “PIF continues to expand its global footprint in sport, with football at the heart of this growth.” That line ties together the various moves — club purchases, player signings, broadcasting stakes and tournament support — into a single narrative about football-led influence. Whether that strategy will deliver sustainable revenue beyond headline deals remains the big open question.
The World Cup partnership highlights how sports sponsorship has shifted from purely promotional activity to strategic statecraft. For Saudi Arabia, aligning with FIFA and broadcasters via SURJ and DAZN creates leverage and opens doors to future commercial packages. Observers will be watching whether PIF’s new focus on tournaments and global partnerships produces steady returns, or if the kingdom will keep pivoting between sports based on short-term optics.
