Five more clubs go up for sale as football privatization push accelerates

The Kingdom is putting more of its football on the market. The Sports Ministry and the National Centre for Privatization & PPP (NCP) opened bidding on five more clubs, including Al Riyadh, Al Fateh, Abha, Al Tai, and Al Shoulla, the ministry said in a statement seen by EnterpriseAM. Investors have until 5 July to file prequalification applications under the Sports Clubs Investment and Privatization Project.

A spread across the divisions: Al Riyadh, Abha, and Ahsa-based Al Fateh play in the Saudi Pro League, while Hail-based Al Tai sits in the First Division and Kharj’s Al Shoulla sits in the Second. All five cleared the regulatory steps and reached the “readiness stage” for offering, the ministry said, adding that it is matching each club’s readiness against the seriousness of would-be buyers rather than rushing clubs out the door.

The momentum is there: Expressions of interest (EOI) stay open on a rolling basis, and a deal takes 8-10 months to close once a buyer surfaces. More than 80 EOIs are now registered across 22 clubs, evidence of fast-building appetite from both local and international money, according to the ministry.

That tallies with what officials are telling investors abroad: The government has completed transactions on 11 clubs with two more in the works, Ibrahim AlMoaiqel, assistant deputy minister for investment and privatization, told the Middle East Sports Investment Forum in London last week.

Two transactions are close to the line: Negotiations over Al Najma and Al Akhdoud are underway, with contract signing and an ownership-transfer announcement to follow. The privatization of Al Akhdoud stalled last year after interested investors failed to meet the requirements.

More is coming: “We intend to bring more clubs to the market over the next few months,” AlMoaiqel said. His pitch to buyers is to get in early, likening the moment to the run-up to Major League Soccer’s value surge before the 2026 World Cup in North America. Saudi is looking to boost club valuations ahead of the 2034 World Cup by expanding commercial activity and deepening investment, creating attractive entry points for foreign investors while supporting broader economic growth.

REMEMBER- The model has shifted from spending to selling. Riyadh restructured the sector in 2023, folding its four biggest clubs (Al Hilal, Al Nassr, Al Ittihad, and Al Ahli) into companies that are majority-owned by the PIF, and bankrolling a wave of marquee signings. The fund agreed to offload 70% of Al Hilal to Prince Alwaleed bin Talal’s Kingdom Holding Company at an SAR 1.4 bn (USD 373 mn) enterprise value — its first sell-down, and the first club offered to a corporate buyer.

A note of caution: The sell-down is happening against a jittery regional backdrop, with the Iran war weighing on travel, tourism, and sentiment across the Gulf. Officials are working to reassure investors that the plan is intact. “Recent headlines have raised some questions about parts of the region, but the reality is headlines are very different from fundamentals,” AlMoaiqel said.