The Saudi Ministry of Finance has revealed that it has completed the transfer of the ownership of 14 sports clubs to the private sector, thereby contributing to its strengthening in terms of technical and commercial terms, and giving freedom to work as commercial enterprises to develop sports work for the better.
According to the official statement published on the website of the Saudi Ministry of Finance on the budget for 2024, the allocation programme in 2023 contributed to raising private sector participation in GDP to emphasize the ongoing journey of economic diversification by supporting promising sectors. The Kingdom is working to build an effective sports sector through the “Investment and Allocation Project for Sports Clubs to achieve the objectives of Vision 2030 in the sector.”
Prince Abdulaziz bin Turki al-Faisal, Minister of Sport, announced in June the transfer of ownership of Union, Ahli, Nasr and Al-Hilal clubs to the “Public Investment Fund”, and its conversion into companies, as part of the investment and allocation project launched by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
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The Minister of Sport announced, at the Sports Clubs Allocation Project Conference, that the “Public Investment Fund” would acquire 75 per cent as opposed to 25 per cent for the General Assembly.
The Board of Directors of the Club Company consists of two members nominated by the General Assembly and five members nominated by the Public Investment Fund.
Mohammed al-Jadaan, the Saudi Minister of Finance, confirmed that the four big clubs that were transferred to the Public Investment Fund would be earmarked for income on the Fund, not the budget.
During the press conference held following the announcement of the budget on the seventh of this month, Al-Jadaan said that other clubs when they allocate will be seen will they be transferred to the Public Investment Fund, which is predominantly, but no decision has been taken so far, explaining: “I will not talk about my evaluation, and this will be announced in its time, God willing.”
The overall mobility and allocation of clubs aims to achieve qualitative leaps in the Kingdom’s various sports by 2030, to make a sporting distinguished generation at the regional and global levels. In addition to developing the game of football and its competitions in particular, to reach the list of “Top 10 leagues in the world”, The Saudi Professional League’s revenues increased from SAR 450 million to over SAR 1.8 billion annually.
