THE 600 BILLION DOLLAR MEN

From the star-studded Pro League to golf, F1 and cricket, Saudi Arabia's dizzying strategic investment in global sport is as cynically ambitious as it is controversial.

- Paul MacInnes

THE SCOPE OF SAUDI ARABIAN ambition in global sport is so broad as to be dizzying, but to get a sense of how it works you can look at the history of one of the country’s first investments, in the antics of professional wrestling.

In 2014, Saudi Arabia brought WWE to Riyadh. Held at the Green Halls Stadium and billed as a “live event”, the debut wasn’t televised and it aped wrestling contests previously staged in the United Arab Emirates. Fighters such as Roman Reigns, Dolph Ziggler and John Cena contested six bouts in front of a delirious, all-male crowd. “Everyone is truly proud that we’ve visited their city,” said Cena, posing for selfies with dignitaries wearing traditional thawbs. A placard in the crowd read: “I’ve WW Eaited for this my whole life!”

Four years later, WWE agreed a 10-year “strategic partnership” with the Saudi ministry of sport. Instead of just generic nights, Riyadh was to have a bespoke event, Crown Jewel, its logo the emerald green of the Saudi flag. According to the website Wrestlenomics, WWE benefited to the tune of $50m a show.

In the US, a backlash followed. Saudi law prevented female wrestlers from participating at the first event, provoking criticism that was rebuffed by wrestling bosses. “You can’t dictate to a country or a religion about how they handle things,” said the WWE executive Triple H. More protest followed the murder of the journalist Jamal Khashoggi in 2018. Cena pulled out of the Riyadh event that year and has not returned to the country. The Undertaker was booed in the US simply for saying “Crown Jewel”.