Is Saudi Arabia using ‘sportswashing’ to simply hide its human rights abuses – or is there a bigger strategy at play?

Wed, 2 Aug 2023 12:27:29 +1000

Andrew Pam <xanni [at] glasswings.com.au>

Andrew Pam
<https://theconversation.com/is-saudi-arabia-using-sportswashing-to-simply-hide-its-human-rights-abuses-or-is-there-a-bigger-strategy-at-play-208468>

"As Saudi Arabia continues to open up internationally, it is yet again in hot
water over its human rights record. The current controversy revolves around the
kingdom’s increasing presence in the sporting world and accusations of
“sportswashing”.

In recent years, the Saudis have thrown the heavy weight of their Public
Investment Fund into partnerships with Western institutions like the PGA,
Formula One racing and World Wrestling Entertainment.

Riyadh is also luring top soccer players like Cristiano Ronaldo to its national
league and using Lionel Messi as an influencer to promote the kingdom.

Recently, Saudi Arabia has signalled its interest in holding women’s tennis
tournaments and even potentially hosting the 2030 FIFA World Cup, as well.

While the precise dollar figure of all of these efforts is difficult to
determine, it has easily reached into the billions."

Cheers,
       *** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net               Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/                 Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/            Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/               Manager, Serious Cybernetics

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