GLOBAL PERSPECTIVES

The Sports World Wrestles With the Khashoggi Scandal

Tolga Ozyurtcu

Board of Contributors

Nov 6, 2019 | 18:30 GMT

John Cena (L) competes with Triple H during the World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) Greatest Royal Rumble event in Jeddah on April 27. Saudi Arabia is attracting increasing number of sporting and entertainment events, such as the WWE.

(STRINGER/AFP/Getty Images)

Highlights

For all its riches, Saudi Arabia has been a small-time player on the global sporting stage, but this is starting to change thanks to far-reaching reforms.
Like many companies active in Saudi Arabia, sporting organizations that have interests in the kingdom have sought to deflect criticism over their response to the Jamal Khashoggi murder by noting that they are "monitoring the situation."
By proceeding with an event in Saudi Arabia early next month, World Wrestling Entertainment might lose some U.S. and European fans, but it will increase its footprint in the Middle East.

By most standards, Saudi Arabia tends to punch above its weight in geopolitical matters. However, the same cannot be said about sports in the kingdom. Whether considering the performance of its national and Olympic teams, the number of major sports events hosted by the country or the development of professional leagues, the Saudis are G-20 bottom-feeders, arguably superior only to Indonesia in this regard. Yes, they have a decent professional soccer league compared to the region (money helps). They also hosted the first three iterations of what is now called the Confederations Cup, FIFA's marginally prestigious World Cup warm-up tournament, and have qualified five times for the World Cup proper. Some members of the royal family have also held symbolic leadership posts in FIFA and the International Olympic Committee's sport governance apparatus (again, money helps). This began to change two years ago as it began making moves to develop a...

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