Saudi Arabia’s PIF taking over ownership of Saudi football teams: The kingdom’s sovereign wealth fund, the Public Investment Fund (PIF) will hold a 75% majority stake in four of the country’s top football clubs — Al Ittihad, Al Ahli, Al Hilal, and Al Nassr, the Saudi Sports Ministry said on Monday. The remaining 25% stake will be held by nonprofit organizations, the ministry said, without providing further details.

KSA is also looking at the world of golf, with the PIF announcing yesterday its plans to combine its commercial businesses in golf — including PIF-backed LIV Golf — with the PGA Tour and DP World Tour into one entity. The new commercial entity will have oversight over all of its “golf-related commercial operations, businesses, and investments,” the statement says. PIF will be set up as the new body’s lead investor, with the “exclusive right to further invest in the new entity, including a right of first refusal on any capital that may be invested in the new entity, including into the PGA Tour, LIV Golf, and DP World Tour.” The statement does not specify how much PIF is pouring into the new body, but the Financial Times suggests it could be somewhere in the neighborhood of USD 3 bn.

This is all part of Saudi’s push to diversify its sources of revenue beyond the oil industry — with sports taking a significant portion of that drive: The sovereign wealth fund’s acquisition of majority stakes in Saudi’s biggest football clubs coincides with the country looking to attract top football talents such as Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi, and Karim Benzema. The kingdom is looking to quadruple the Saudi league’s revenues, the Financial Times notes.

Tags: