Overview

• Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund has partnered with FIFA as a sponsor of the Club World Cup, marking its latest major investment in global football.
• FIFA has guaranteed $1 billion to the tournament’s 32 clubs and sought external funding to offset sluggish ticket and sponsorship sales.
• DAZN’s $1 billion acquisition of media rights underlines FIFA’s reliance on high-value deals to support the new competition format.
• The sponsorship follows the controversial awarding of the 2034 World Cup to Saudi Arabia in a process criticized for its lack of transparency.
• Human rights groups and other critics label the PIF’s sports investments as ‘sportswashing’ intended to bolster Saudi Arabia’s international image.