Saudi Arabia's sports take over
This article presented very interesting information on how Saudi Arabia has collected a large amount of sporting industries. The article explains that the main reason that they are attempting to do this is because they are trying to prepare for a world where oil (their main source of income) is less important. Some of the fields that they have expanded to include but are not limited to soccer, formula, golf, horse racing, and boxing. These are all huge sporting fields with tons of money, and now they have some control of all of these markets. This does not come without controversy though, as many people see the human rights issues that are going on and are not in support of these new leagues because of it. It goes as far as the athletes themselves being criticized because of these issues. I believe this is fair to do, but I also see the athletes' side as the Saudi Arabian leagues can throw more money at these athletes than they will see anywhere else. It will be very interesting to see where this country goes in the future and if they will be able to figure out the civil issues in their country.
2 comments:
I have followed the expansion of the Saudi Arabian soccer league somewhat closely and it was very interesting to see how many big name players that were brought in over just one summer. I am not sure if their current model for soccer is sustainable though as many players are already trying to leave and head back to European leagues after just 6 months.
This is Saudi Arabia's vision 2030 plan as they continue to diversify their economy shifting away from oil. The line- one of the projects of 2030 vision is supposed to be a city of the future with no roads and cars in the middle of the dessert. It will be interesting to see the development of Saudi Arabia in the coming years.
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