Saudi Arabia has struck a new blow in its attempts to polish its reputation through the sports world. On Tuesday it was announced that the North American golf organization PGA Tour plans to merge with competitor LIV Golf, which is financed by the Saudi Public Investment Fund (PIF). Top executives of both organizations announced this at the American news channel CNBC. A final agreement has not yet been reached, but the announcement is a major and unexpected step in the golf world.
PGA and LIV have a history of rivalry and conflict. LIV offered “loads of money” to snatch golfers from PGA, which in turn sanctioned defecting players. It resulted in mutual lawsuits.
None of that was noticeable in the CNBC studio this Tuesday. PGA CEO Jay Monahan sat brotherly next to Yasir Al-Rumayyan, the face of the fund that invested billions in LIV. Together they bombastic language about the future of golf. “What we are seeing today is the unification of golf,” said Monahan. “Together we can grow faster than in the past ten to twenty years,” said Al-Rumayyan. The lawsuits are on hold, according to CNBC.
Advertising money
Al-Rumayyan confirmed on the air that he wants to invest billions of dollars in the merged company through PIF. It comes down to advertising spending for the Saudi government, and perhaps the cynical variety of that,”sports washing‘. In addition, sport functions as a charm offensive to distract from human rights violations.
LIV has often been associated with that strategy. Northern Irish golfer Graeme McDowell, affiliated with LIV, accidentally admitted that he let himself be lent to it. And former US President Donald Trump, who made his own golf courses available for LIV competitions, said against Wall Street Journal that LIV has been “a great thing” for Saudi Arabia.
“From Khashoggi’s point of view, that’s so much fizzled out,” Trump said. Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi disappeared in 2018 while visiting a Saudi embassy in Istanbul, his body has never been found. Trump: “It really looks like that has completely died out.”
“Beyond the glamor of the golf courses and TV cameras, repression is on the rise in Saudi Arabia,” Amnesty International said in a statement, according to international media. The human rights organization calls the merger with PGA “just part of a wider effort to become a major sporting force and to try to divert attention from the country’s appalling human rights record.”
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Benzema
Saudi Arabia is also making headway in the international football world. The Portuguese star striker Cristiano Ronaldo played for the Saudi Al-Nassr in recent months; next season he will have competition from an old acquaintance. On Tuesday it was announced that former Real Madrid top striker Karim Benzema signs a contract with Al-Ittihad. The Saudis have been seducing top players for some time to link their names to the country.
For example, the Argentinian star Lionel Messi receives a generous fee for his role as so-called tourist ambassador for the Arab Kingdom. Messi is the face of PR campaigns, but the Argentinian may also play in the Saudi league next season. It is clear that he will no longer play for Paris Saint-Germain next season. Despite speculation in the French press about a lucrative move to Saudi Arabia, it is not yet known where Messi’s future lies.