Saturday 07 December 2024 7:00 am  |  Updated:  Friday 06 December 2024 2:47 pm

Why doesn’t Saudi Arabia sponsor rugby when it invests everywhere else?

By: Matt Hardy

Deputy Sports Editor - CityAM

If you were going to have a gander through the list of sports sponsorship deals related – directly or indirectly – to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, you’d be scrolling for a good while.

Because research by Play the Game reports that there’s a total of 910 deals between Saudi Arabia or Saudi companies/individuals and various global sports leagues, teams and players.

Football enjoys 194 of the current active deals, boxing has 123 and golf 92. Further down the list wrestling has 29, padel 13 and camel racing 10.

Companies include oil giant Aramco, the Saudi Public Investment Fund – which owns Premier League club Newcastle United – Riyadh Air and Vision 2030.

Missing piece for Saudi Arabia?

But one major sport, which has its own World Cup, does not appear once: rugby.

It is no secret that rugby union is struggling and mooted Middle Eastern interest – in the form of potential Saudi investment into the English Premiership or the plan which would see a new global competition host finals in Qatar – has been put off.

It has meant more niche sports such as swimming and cycling have dipped their toes into the world of Saudi sponsorship while rugby is left wanting – even if there are plans for a potential LIV Golf-style breakaway with Saudi and US financial interest reportedly in the works.

Out of 30 sports ranked for global audience alignment, rugby union scores 40 per cent below the average, data from sponsorship tech company Luscid shared with CityAM reveals. 

That puts rugby on par, in this metric, with Equestrian, rowing and ice hockey. 

“Rugby right now is very disjointed as a sport if you look at, for example, the broadcast deals,” Steve Martin of MSQ Sport + Entertainment tells CityAM.

“You watch the Six Nations on one channel, the Premiership on another and the Champions Cup on another. There are of course jewels in the crown, such as the British & Irish Lions, but that is every four years.

“The game as a result doesn’t feel like it has a ‘home’ in terms of a media point of view, but that doesn’t mean it is a poor investment.

“The demographics are very strong and affluent and actually becoming more diverse too. The women’s game is really starting to thrive and create big name players. So the sport is commercially attractive to big brand sponsors and I don’t see that changing anytime soon.”

Eventually

Given the financial state of rugby, where England alone have lost four top clubs in the last two years, it is hard to imagine Saudi advances would be rejected. And there appears to be an inevitability about it, according to Professor Simon Chadwick, an expert in global sports business. 

He tells CityAM that the kingdom’s ambition “to be ubiquitous” means we can expect moves into rugby eventually.

“Given that it will be going head-to-head in the sport with the likes of Dubai and Emirates Airline, then one speculates that Riyadh Air – which is intended to directly rival Emirates – might be one means through which the country makes its first important moves in rugby.

“The underpinning logic of Saudi investment in sport is that they are seeking associations with commercially underdeveloped sports which nevertheless have a global footprint.

“Perhaps the country is looking towards the likes of a new Rugby Club World Cup, maybe linked to state investments in tournament ownership.

“It seems unlikely that Saudi Arabia will stay away from rugby, especially given its status as an Olympic sport.”

Reasons as to why Saudi Arabia involves itself in sport so much isn’t really up for debate, but why they’re stepping rugby remains an interesting conundrum.

And when and how they make their first move into sport sponsorship will undoubtedly be key to shaping the future of a sport that’s crying out for financial help.

Play the Game list of Saudi sport sponsorships