Saudi Council of Ministers Approves Draft to Privatize 14 Sports Clubs

Sanaa Hasan July 3, 2024

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Saudi Council of Ministers Approves Draft to Privatize 14 Sports Clubs — The Saudi Council of Ministers approved in its weekly session on Tuesday a draft document to privatize 14 sports clubs.

The Saudi Council of Ministers approved in its weekly session on Tuesday a draft document to privatize 14 sports clubs.

The Council of Ministers granted the Supervisory Committee for Privatization in the Sports Sector the authority to issue approvals for the privatization of sports clubs of the following grades: (professional, first, second, third, and fourth).

How the Saudi Pro League became the football world’s biggest story

Prince Mohammed bin Salman launched a sports club investment and privatization project last year as part of Saudi Vision 2030. This initiative aims to build a robust sports sector by encouraging private sector participation and enhancing performance across national teams.

The project involves two main tracks: firstly, approving investments from major companies in sports clubs in exchange for ownership transfer; secondly, initiating the privatization of several sports clubs from Q4 2023 onwards.

Sports Development Vision for 2030

The goal of transferring and privatizing clubs is to elevate sports in the Kingdom by 2030. This aims to foster a standout generation of athletes globally and regionally. Specifically, it targets advancing football, aiming to rank the Saudi League among the world’s top 10. This initiative also seeks to significantly boost revenues: the Saudi Professional League’s annual income has surged from 450 million riyals to over 1.8 billion riyals. Moreover, its market value has risen from 3 billion to more than 8 billion riyals.

The Saudi Minister of Sports, Prince Abdulaziz bin Turki Al-Faisal, announced the transfer of ownership of the Al-Ittihad, Al-Ahly, Al-Nasr and Al-Hilal clubs to the Saudi Public Investment Fund by 75%. Moreover, the ownership of Al-Qadisiyah Club will be transferred to Saudi Aramco.

He also added that the Diriyah Club will be transferred to the Diriyah Gate Development Authority, the AlUla Club to the Royal Commission for AlUla, and the Falcons Club to the Saudi “NEOM” Company.