Saudi's considering investing in World Athletics - valuing business at 500 million pounds ($635.95 million)

Golf and F1 have been ruined. I expect track to follow

Sportswashing!

Hope they spend at least $10 million of that on the improved anti-doping they'll need.

At least $8 million is reserved for trans mice.

The only thing surprising about this is that the Saudi's haven't already done this in track and field. The Saudi Sovereign Wealth fund has about $900 billion dollars. They can take control of almost every Olympic sport for only $1 billion per sport.

There were 32 sports in the Paris 2024 Olympics. Subtract basketball, golf, soccer, and hockey, which already have plenty of money, and that leaves 28 sports. For $28 billion dollars the Saudi's could control them all.

I have very mixed feelings about that. I'm not crazy about the Saudi's but I'm also not crazy about so many world class athletes barely able to make ends meet.

WE changed the title of the thread. No article said they were going to invest $600 million. Just that it would be valued at 600 million.

Here is another article on the matter.

reuters.com

Exclusive: Saudi Arabia-backed sports fund weighs investing in World Athletics, sources say

Amy-Jo Crowley,Mitch Phillips

A Saudi Arabia-backed sports fund is considering investing in a new body that World Athletics may potentially set up to manage the sport's commercial rights, two people with knowledge of the matter said.

Open link

I’m open to always improving the sport. Europe has done a much better job than any other region in the world in giving opportunities, quality tracks, and quality meets with good attendance for athletes. If Saudis think they can match this by all means go ahead. But, Doha 2019 was not good due to very hot weather and poor attendance, are Arabs even fans of track and field, an already unpopular sport dwindled by others? What’s in it for the Arabs?

Al Aqsa Storm was victorious because Saudi Arabia, Turkie, Egypt, Jordan use BTC Bit Coins to finance Palestine Independence Figh.ters

15 out of 19 chance this happens based on historical precedents

Europe is often accused of Sports Washing.. Europe murdered 500 Million in Middle East, India, China, Asia, Africa, Americas until they were defeated in man-t-man combat and never apologized or paid reparations.

I'll probably be accused of being a xenophobe but how is this any different from Wanda investment in Diamond League which aside from the money I don't think has done anything to move the sport forward. WA has tried to branch out into other continents and it's been abysmal failure. It does nothing more than stretch athlete resources unnecessarily and makes for less compelling competition because athletes don't want the excessive travel.

WA's best bet is to keep the sport centered in Europe with world championships that rotate among known stadiums that will be full like Berlin, London, and Paris. Forget Doha or China or any other country that is too far flung and cannot draw full crowds. Same for Diamond League - keep the traditional locations Monaco, Oslo, etc. And sadly that may mean giving up on the US too. It looks like Pre meet maybe the last vestige of successful elite track in the US.

Athletes always show up ready, so give them the best chance of performing well rather than having to roam all over the globe to compete in half empty stadiums. Fans will also get to see the best of the best complete head to head alot more. Ours is a traditional sport and these experiments to broaden the fan base haven't worked for a variety of reasons. At least preserve the highest level of the sport from collapse.

WA, DL are small potatos.

GST, Athlos, Sound Running ,Track town are a single french fry.

NBC Hollywood owns the Olympics and make $B10s in net profits after expenses.

transgenics does not mean transgender. take a genetics class numbnuts. man, why are so many people so stupid? including trump?

I guess they've done a lot of testing and concluded that AI-powered real time censoring tools are precise and powerful enough to warrant this sportswashing endeavor. Cause most of the women in elite athletics wear outfits that are absolutely f-wording haram in Saudi Arabia.

At least KSA can host the 3,000 member strong WA Blue Badges at each meeting with perks, convention rooms for a week, etc.

They can save the San Diego WA meet by paying for the WA Blue Badges convention room bribe.

It's just about sportwashing the appalling Saudi human rights record, and giving the country more prestige and a higher profile as the oil slowly runs out.

Look at the crowds at the high-profile boxing events they hold, including recent world heavyweight title fights. Sparsely attended and most of the spectators seem uninterested.

I doubt if they will care too much about anti-doping. I'm always suspicious of the early season results at the Doha DL, where guys like the Manangois or Reynauld Cheryuit run their season's fastest time in May.

Thanks for correcting me. I just saw an article and didn't really dig too deep.