Jonathan Weiner
The sports pages have been rife with stories involving Saudi Arabia recently, with the kingdom making headlines in everything from the English Premier League to women’s pro wrestling.
None of this is a coincidence. The oil-rich nation has spent approximately $2.2 billion since 2017 aiming to rebrand itself as the Middle East’s newest sports and tourism hub—an effort known as Vision 2030 that is receiving harsh scrutiny from human-rights advocates and forcing some in the sports world to make hard choices.
On Thursday, the second edition of the Aramco Saudi Ladies International golf tournament kicked off in Royal Greens Golf & Country Club in King Abdullah Economic City. Last week, Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund agreed to invest $200 million in a new pro golf endeavor led by former PGA star Greg Norman. In October, the $500 billion sovereign wealth fund acquired English Premier League’s Newcastle United for $409 million. The kingdom hired Boston Consulting Group to…
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