With a month to kick-off, Qatar has added 30,000 rooms to house visitors to the country during the <keyword id="5929" type="General" weightage="80" keywordseo="fifa-world-cup" source="Orion">FIFA World Cup</keyword> 2022 that begins on November 20, organisers said on Monday.<br /><br />The addition of new rooms comes on top of the two million room-nights that will be used by visitors during the month-long tournament being organised for the first time in the <keyword id="30350" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="middle-east" source="Orion">Middle East</keyword>, said <keyword id="14899613" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="yasir-al-jamal" source="Orion">Yasir Al Jamal</keyword>, Director General, Supreme Committee for Delivery &amp; Legacy, the organiser of the event.<br /><br />The Japanese squad will be the first to arrive in Doha on November 7, heralding the imminent opening of the first celebration of the beautiful game in winter, organisers said at a press meet that saw <keyword id="57149" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="fifa" source="Orion">FIFA</keyword> President Gianni Infantino deliver a recorded video message.<br /><br />"The world is excited. Qatar is ready. The stage is set. Together, we will deliver the best <keyword id="22177" type="General" weightage="80" keywordseo="world-cup" source="Orion">World Cup</keyword> ever on and off the field," the FIFA chief said.<br /><br />"We have always said that Qatar will deliver the best-ever edition of the FIFA World Cup. And as you look around the country today, at the state-of-the-art stadiums, the training pitches, the metro, the wider infrastructure, everything is ready and everyone is welcome," Infantino said, praising the sporting facilities of the country where he currently lives.<br /><br />Organisers said 2.89 million tickets have been sold for the 64 matches to be staged in eight stadiums from November 20 to December 18.<br /><br />Demand has been highest among fans based in Qatar, the United States, Saudi Arabia, England, Mexico, the United Arab Emirates, Argentina, France, Brazil and Germany.<br /><br />Tickets for all the matches will continue to be released between now and the end of the tournament, with fans encouraged to keep checking FIFA.com/tickets for the latest inventory.<br /><br />From this week, ticket holders will receive an email with information on how to download the ticketing app and retrieve their mobile tickets.<br /><br />Nasser Al Khater, CEO of FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022, said, "Qatar is ready to host a global celebration of the beautiful game. We look forward to welcoming fans and players from across the world as they sample our welcoming hospitality, vast array of entertainment options and, of course, top-class international football. It promises to be a unique edition of the FIFA World Cup -- and one that will leave a lasting, positive impact on Qatar, the Middle East and the Arab world."<br /><br />"Way beyond testing the eight stadiums, the volunteers and accreditation centres are fully operational, with the ticketing centre at the Doha Exhibition and Convention Centre opening today (Tuesday) and the International Broadcast Centre and Main Media Centre to follow. I can only reiterate FIFA's confidence and deep appreciation for all the work preparing to deliver the best FIFA World Cup ever in just over one month's time," said FIFA Chief Operating Officer -- World Cup, Colin Smith.<br /><br /><strong>SEE ALSO:<br /><a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/india/news/very-strongly-hope-indias-g20-presidency-will-help-create-effective-debt-restructuring-systems-un-chief/articleshow/94935353.cms">Very strongly hope India's G20 presidency will help create effective debt restructuring systems: UN chief</a><br /><a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/sports/news/t20-world-cup-sikandar-raza-bowlers-lead-zimbabwe-to-clinical-31-run-win-over-ireland/articleshow/94921708.cms">T20 World Cup: Sikandar Raza, bowlers lead Zimbabwe to clinical 31-run win over Ireland</a></strong>

FIFA World Cup: Teams to start arriving in Doha from Nov 7

<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/5dc8abb53afd3726564b06f3-1318/screen shot 2019-11-11 at 112809 am.png" border="0" alt="Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi on Axios" data-mce-source="Screenshot/Axios on HBO" data-mce-caption="Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi said in an interview with &amp;quotAxios on HBO&quot; that the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi was &amp;quota mistake.&quot;" /><p class="source"><span>Screenshot/Axios on HBO</span></p><p class="caption">Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi said in an interview with "Axios on HBO" that the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi was "a mistake."</p></div><p></p></div></div></p><ul class="summary-list"><li><strong>Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi called Saudi Arabia's murder of journalist and US resident Jamal Khashoggi "a mistake." </strong></li><li><strong>Speaking to "<a href="https://www.axios.com/uber-ceo-saudi-arabia-jamal-khashoggi-mistake-92865f2a-d97c-4d6a-b171-5e7c0a69e77a.html">Axios on HBO</a>," Khosrowshahi defended his company's ties to the Saudi state, which represents Uber's fifth-largest investor.</strong></li><li><strong>"I think that government said that they made a mistake," Khosrowshahi said of Khashoggi's killing at the hands of Saudi agents. "People make mistakes, it doesn't mean that they can never be forgiven, I think that they've taken it seriously."</strong></li><li><strong>Khosrowshahi later clarified to Axios in an email that Khashoggi's murder was "reprehensible and should not be forgotten or excused."</strong></li><li><strong>Khosrowshahi is one of the few tech executives that skipped <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/jared-kushner-blackrock-citigroup-virgin-hyperloop-saudi-investment-conference-2019-10">Saudi Arabia's annual investment conference this year</a>, though he said it was due to an apparent scheduling conflict.</strong></li><li><strong><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/?hprecirc-bullet">Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories</a>.</strong></li></ul><p>Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi called Saudi Arabia's murder of journalist and US resident Jamal Khashoggi "a mistake," though he later clarified that Saudi actions were "reprehensible and should not be forgotten or excused."</p><p>During an interview with "<a href="https://www.axios.com/uber-ceo-saudi-arabia-jamal-khashoggi-mistake-92865f2a-d97c-4d6a-b171-5e7c0a69e77a.html">Axios on HBO</a>," which aired on Sunday night, Khosrowshahi discussed the impact of Khashoggi's murder on his decision <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/businesses-cutting-ties-with-saudi-arabia-over-jamal-khashoggi-disappearance-2018-10">not to attend Saudi Arabia's annual investment conference last year</a>. He previously said that he was "very troubled" by reports on Khashoggi's murder and canceled his appearance at the forum.  </p><p>Khosrowshahi <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/10/22/us/politics/mnuchin-saudia-arabia-conference.html">did not attend this year's conference either</a>, despite the fact that Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund is <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/worldviews/wp/2016/06/02/saudi-arabia-bought-a-huge-stake-in-uber-what-does-that-mean-for-female-drivers/?utm_term=.26064ca27b8a">one of Uber's largest shareholders</a>.</p><p>"Did you not go this year because of the Khashoggi situation?" Dan Primack, Axios' Business Editor, asked Khosrowshahi.</p><p>"We had a board meeting at the same time," Khosrowshahi responded. </p><p>"Well that's convenient," Primack countered, "but you're the CEO, you probably could have rescheduled that." </p><p>"We schedule board meetings years and years ahead," Khosrowshahi answered, adding that he wasn't sure if he would have gone to this year's conference even if there wasn't an apparent scheduling conflict. </p><p>Primack also asked about Yasir Al-Rumayyan, the head of Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund who <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/uber-saudi-funds-idUSL8N18U2QN">sits on Uber's board of directors</a>.</p><p>"He represents and works for a government, which you believe had a role in the murder of a journalist who was a US resident. Should that person be on the board of a US company?" Primack asked. </p><p>"I think that government said that they made a mistake," Khosrowshahi responded.</p><p>"We've made mistakes too," he added, referencing his company's experimentation with self driving cars, a program which it <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/uber-stops-arizona-self-driving-car-tests-fatal-crash-2018-5">recently pulled out of</a> following the <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/uber-test-vehicles-involved-in-37-crashes-before-fatal-self-driving-incident-2019-11">death of a pedestrian</a> in Arizona.</p><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/5db8db62dee019053b3ad9b4-1024/gettyimages-1178820189.jpg" border="0" alt="Saudi future investment fund" data-mce-source="FAYEZ NURELDINE/AFP via Getty Images" data-mce-caption="Delegates wait in line ahead of a session during the Future Investment Initiative (FII) forum at the King Abdulaziz Conference Centre in Saudi Arabia's capital Riyadh, on October 29, 2019. - Top finance moguls and political leaders were expected at a Davos-style Saudi investment summit, in stark contrast to last year when outrage over critic Jamal Khashoggi's murder sparked a mass boycott. Organisers say 300 speakers from over 30 countries, including American officials and heads of global banks and major sovereign wealth funds, are attending the three-day forum." /><p class="source"><span>FAYEZ NURELDINE/AFP via Getty Images</span></p><p class="caption">Delegates wait in line ahead of a session during the Future Investment Initiative (FII) forum at the King Abdulaziz Conference Centre in Saudi Arabia's capital Riyadh, on October 29, 2019. - Top finance moguls and political leaders were expected at a Davos-style Saudi investment summit, in stark contrast to last year when outrage over critic Jamal Khashoggi's murder sparked a mass boycott. Organisers say 300 speakers from over 30 countries, including American officials and heads of global banks and major sovereign wealth funds, are attending the three-day forum.</p></div><p></p></div></div></p><p>"People make mistakes, it doesn't mean that they can never be forgiven, I think that they've taken it seriously," Khosrowshahi said. "[Saudi Arabia] is just like any other shareholder. Now we're a public company, anyone can invest in our company if they choose to do so." </p><p>Following the interview, Khosrowshahi backtracked on his comments in an email to Axios. </p><p>"I said something in the moment that I do not believe," he wrote. "When it comes to Jamal Khashoggi, his murder was reprehensible and should not be forgotten or excused."</p><p>Uber did not immediately respond to Business Insider's request for comment. </p><p>Uber was one of many companies that chose to boycott Saudi Arabia's investment conference - also referred to as Davos in the Desert - last year in response to news about <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/who-is-jamal-khashoggi-turkey-accuses-saudi-arabia-of-murdering-reporter-2018-10">Khashoggi's disappearance</a> and subsequent murder at the hands of Saudi agents. The <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/cia-mohammed-bin-salman-ordered-jamal-khashoggi-killed-report-says-2018-11">CIA reportedly concluded</a> in November 2018 that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman ordered Khashoggi's killing.</p><p>One year after the brutal assassination plot, there are now <a href="https://www.insider.com/the-murder-of-jamal-khashoggi-2019-10">audio recordings, Saudi admissions, and a 100-page UN report</a> that reveal stunning details about the Kingdom's alleged role in the execution plot and its extensive cover-up attempts.</p><p>Despite credible evidence which ties the Saudi government to the murder, many of the businesses and officials who distanced themselves from Saudi Arabia last year have since made amends. Over <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/jamal-khashoggis-murder-saudi-arabia-companies-returning-business-as-usual-2019-10">150 executives across the world</a>, including those from Blackstone Group, Citigroup, BlackRock, World Bank, and Virgin Hyperloop One attended this year's conference, casting aside political apprehension. </p><p class="tagline"><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/intelligence/40-big-tech-predictions-for-2019?IR=T&amp;itm_source=businessinsider&amp;itm_medium=ctgr_bii&amp;itm_term=ctgr_leadgen&amp;itm_content=uber&amp;itm_campaign=40-big-tech-predictions-for-2019-3"><img src="https://static.businessinsider.com/image/5d5ecdddad2b472c89086704" alt="Exclusive FREE Slide Deck: 40 Big Tech Predictions for 2019 by Business Insider Intelligence" border="0" style="width: 100% !important" /></a></p>    <div class="margin-top">        <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/how-to-make-submit-your-own-emoji-start-finish-2019-8">Apple just released iOS 13.2 with 60 new emoji and emoji variations. Here's how everyday people submit their own emoji.</a></h3>        <div>            <iframe class="bijwplayerclass" data-player="jwplayer" src="https://content.jwplatform.com/players/rgp1Hveg-CEZHWCBG.html" width="100%" height="100%" frameborder="0" scrolling="auto" style="margin:0px;" allowfullscreen=""></iframe><script>function receiveMessage(event){ console.log(event.data.fullscreen); Android.fullscreen(event.data.fullscreen); }window.addEventListener("message", receiveMessage, false);</script>        </div>    </div>

Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi said Jamal Khashoggi's murder was 'a mistake' by the Saudi government

<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/5bcf3175d2e648347846ebd6-2307/dara khosrowshahi .jpg" border="0" alt="Dara Khosrowshahi " data-mce-source="Getty" /><p class="source"><span>Getty</span></p><p class="caption">Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi.</p></div><p></p></div></div></p><ul class="summary-list"><li><strong>Uber's chief executive Dara Khosrowshahi is 'anxious' to learn about the circumstances behind the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi.</strong></li><li><strong>Saudi Arabia has denied that it had a direct hand in Khashoggi's killing.</strong></li><li><strong>Saudi Arabia has a board seat at Uber and has invested at least $3.5 billion into the company.</strong></li><li><strong>Khosrowshahi said the kingdom still deserves its board seat while the public awaits the facts.</strong></li></ul><p>Uber's chief executive Dara Khosrowshahi has said he is "anxious" for more information about the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, and any role Saudi Arabia may have played in the killing.</p><p>Uber is the second most valuable private company in the world, with a purported valuation of $72 billion. It has taken $3.5 billion from Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund (PIF) and its biggest shareholder is SoftBank, whose Vision Fund is also backed by Saudi Arabia.</p><p>That deeply entwined relationship gives PIF's managing director and Saudi royal adviser Yasir Othman Al-Rumayyan a board seat and, according to Khosrowshahi, this won't change until more information emerges about Khashoggi's demise.</p><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/5bec0341110d4c03c0706b19-1093/screen shot 2018-11-14 at 111151.png" border="0" alt="Yasir al-Rumayyan" data-mce-source="Reuters" data-mce-caption="Yasir al-Rumayyan, Chief Executive and Managing Director of Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund" /><p class="source"><span>Reuters</span></p><p class="caption">Yasir al-Rumayyan, CEO of Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund.</p></div><p></p></div></div></p><p><a href="https://www.wsj.com/video/uber-ceo-on-relationship-with-saudi-investors/70EA620B-7A28-4ADB-8F2D-FA14BD4B475E.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Khosrowshahi told The Wall Street Journal</a>'s Tech D.Live conference on Tuesday: "Once we get the facts and understand exactly what happens, we will do our best to react as a company, and the company is a bunch of humans making judgements and, you know, one of our norms is we do the right thing, period.</p><p>"But that's based on our judgement on what the right thing is, and this is a situation that isn't entirely clear."</p><p>The Uber chief added that Saudi is "a big investor in the company" and the company had a fiduciary duty to its backers.</p><p>"They have a board seat and so far they've been a terrific board member. So until we learn more, we're not in a position to act in one way or another," he said. "The act itself [Khashoggi's murder] was horrible, and we're anxious to learn more and then we'll talk to our board and then we'll decide what the best way forward."</p><p>Khosrowshahi acknowledged that going public next year, which Uber reportedly intends to do in the first half of 2019, will help solve the Saudi problem. "At that point, anyone is free to be a shareholder one way or the other, and we enter into public land," he said.</p><p>Saudi Arabia is one of the biggest funders of Silicon Valley startups, either through the PIF or through SoftBank's Vision Fund. Saudi money accounts for almost half of the Vision Fund. Apart from Uber, there's Vision Fund money in WeWork and Slack, all prominent firms on the brink of going public, as well as a scattering of smaller firms.</p><p><strong>Read more: </strong><em><a href="http://uk.businessinsider.com/wework-raises-3-billion-from-softbank-2018-11">SoftBank committed another $3 billion to WeWork, and the deal could value the office sharing firm at around $42 billion</a></em></p><p>These companies must decide how that financial relationship continues. A key question is whether Saudi Arabia ordered the killing of Khashoggi, a dissident writer, something the kingdom denies. But the UK, French, and German governments have pressed the regime to give a full account of what happened.</p><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/5bbbd72a49aa85117c5f85c3-2000/jamal khashoggi.jpg" border="0" alt="Jamal Khashoggi" data-mce-source="Reuters" data-mce-caption="Jamal Khashoggi, a prominent Saudi journalist, is missing." /><p class="source"><span>Reuters</span></p><p class="caption">Jamal Khashoggi.</p></div><p></p></div></div></p><p>What is known is that Khashoggi walked into the Saudi embassy in Istanbul, Turkey, on October 2, where he was brutally killed. According to the Turkish government, Saudi agents working on behalf of the government were responsible. Saudi Arabia acknowledged his murder, but denied that it had a hand in his killing.</p><p>Khosrowshahi, along with several other tech leaders, pulled out of a major investment conference hosted by the kingdom a fortnight after Khashoggi's murder.</p><p>Khosrowshahi told the Wall Street Journal: "When I pulled out of the conference, we didn't follow the herd on that, we were quite early there. We didn't know the facts but we thought that it was inappropriate for us to go at that point, based on what had happened. Now we're in a situation where we can wait to get the facts."</p>    <div class="margin-top">        <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/hackers-can-turn-office-phone-into-remote-listening-device-cybersecurity-hack-cisco-spying-tap-2017-11">A cybersecurity expert showed us how hackers can tap into an office phone and listen to everything you're saying</a></h3>        <div>            <iframe class="bijwplayerclass" data-player="jwplayer" src="https://content.jwplatform.com/players/dFhVfyKR-CEZHWCBG.html" width="100%" height="100%" frameborder="0" scrolling="auto" style="margin:0px;" allowfullscreen=""></iframe><script>function receiveMessage(event){ console.log(event.data.fullscreen); Android.fullscreen(event.data.fullscreen); }window.addEventListener("message", receiveMessage, false);</script>        </div>    </div>

Uber's CEO is 'anxious' for more details about murdered journalist Jamal Khashoggi, but says Saudi Arabia still deserves a board seat

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund, led by Crown Prince Mohammed Salman, is going global.</li><li>The sovereign wealth fund is investing in everything from Uber and Blackstone to Heathrow and LIV Golf.</li></ul><p>In the months before <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/saudi-arabia-crown-prince-mohammed-bin-salman-mbs-2023-10">Mohammed bin Salman</a> celebrated his 30th birthday nearly a decade ago, the yet-to-be anointed Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia was gifted a vital key to unlocking the kingdom's future: full purview of its Public Investment Fund.</p><p>Back in 2015, MBS became chairman of the sovereign wealth fund established in 1971 by a former king at a time when it was ready to be transformed. A slow-moving cog of the state no more, PIF was ready to become an investment juggernaut with global presence.</p><p>It's a task the fast-rising royal hasn't shied away from. PIF, officially led by governor Yasir Al-Rumayyan, has been stepping up its mission to invest in high-profile assets globally in recent years to help fulfill its mission of reducing Saudi Arabia's economic dependence on oil.</p><p>That mission, a fundamental part of <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/vision-2030-saudi-arabia-plan-future-proof-oil-economy-2023-8">an ambitious program called Vision 2030</a> that MBS is in charge of, depends in part on how successful the PIF is in generating returns from its big bets overseas — and leveraging those bets to build hot new industries at home.</p><p>"MBS' personal ambition is very much to make Saudi Arabia a highly visible and internationally respected post-oil economy," Steffen Hertog, associate professor at the London School of Economics, told Business Insider. "The PIF is by far his most important vehicle in this endeavor."</p><p>But as PIF spreads its wings, it is becoming increasingly unclear as to just how successful it stands to be beyond the Gulf.</p><h2 id="ab7cae77-96ba-4c12-be58-1085931cd388"><strong>Saudi Arabia goes global</strong></h2><div type="image" title="Prince Mohammed bin Salman in front of a black background." height="320" width="640" msid="112575436" hostid="261" sizebytes="15426"></div><p>A look at the <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.pif.gov.sa/en/our-investments/our-portfolio/#ourportfolio_e=0">PIF's portfolio</a> presents a show reel of some of the most prolific names in global business.</p><p>In the tech sector, it has <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/how-investment-in-uber-brought-saudi-prince-to-silicon-valley-2020-9">pumped $3.5 billion into Uber</a>, poured $45 billion into SoftBank's Vision Fund, taken a 60% stake in <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/tesla">Tesla</a> rival Lucid, and become majority owner of augmented reality startup Magic Leap.</p><p>Beyond that, it has pumped <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/saudi-arabia-public-investment-fund-pif-sports-influence-pga-liv-2023-6">billions of dollars into LIV Golf</a>, led a $415 million takeover of Newcastle United, backed up a Blackstone infrastructure fund with $20 billion and invested in Carnival, the world's biggest cruise operator. In June, PIF expanded its stake in London's Heathrow Airport.</p><p>Figures published in July by <a target="_blank" href="https://globalswf.com/reports/2024gsr#market-update-1h-2024-1">GlobalSWF</a>, a data firm tracking sovereign-wealth-fund activity, found that PIF deployed more capital in the first half of 2024 than all other state-owned investors, which collectively invested close to $100 billion in the six-month period.</p><p>According to LSE's Hertog, PIF's attraction to high-profile brands isn't just about making itself more visible to the West. "These for the most part are corporates active in sectors that the PIF and MBS see as key for Saudi Arabia's domestic economic diversification."</p><p>To make these deals happen, the kingdom has been busy doing a lot of courting.</p><p>In February, it backed a two-day conference in Miami, where the likes of Blackstone leader Stephen Schwarzman and Donald Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner were <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://fii-institute.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/02.22_FII-PRIORITY-Miami-2nd-Edition-Program.pdf">billed as speakers.</a> In October, the kingdom will be prepared for the global elite to descend on capital city Riyadh for its "<a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/saudi-business-conference-davos-in-desert-costs-15000-attend-2023-9">Davos in the desert</a>" investment conference.</p><div type="image" title="Prince Mohammed bin Salman in front of a black background." height="320" width="640" msid="112575436" hostid="261" sizebytes="15426"></div><p>The event, which has previously attracted the likes of JP Morgan and BlackRock CEOs <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/jamie-dimon-career">Jamie Dimon</a> and <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/blackrock-ceo-larry-fink-net-worth-career-history">Larry Fink</a>, has proven controversial in the past. <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/biden-mbs-responsible-for-jamal-khashoggi-murder-2022-7">MBS's alleged role</a> in the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi in 2018, which he denies having involvement in, gave some dealmakers pause for thought.</p><p>That said, the world's corporate elite appear to be looking past the incident as time passes — something the Saudis seem to be aware of. This year's theme, <a target="_blank" href="https://fii-institute.org/conference/fii8/">"Infinite Horizons,"</a> offers a nod to the global scope it has in mind for its future.</p><p>For global companies, fund managers, and bankers, Saudi Arabia's wealth has been a big draw at a critical time. While other investors have exercised caution in the face of a higher interest rate environment, the kingdom has kept its money flowing.</p><p>That's partly because the fund has set a target of $2 trillion in assets under management by the end of the decade, and is racing against the clock to meet the deadline for its ambitious Vision 2030 program.</p><p>Saudi Arabia also finds itself l<a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/saudi-arabia-vs-uae-middle-east-economic-power-supremacy-dubai-2023-9">ocked in a tense rivalry with other economic powerhouses</a> in the region such as the United Arab Emirates, where funds such as Mubadala and <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/satya-nadella-microsoft-ai-kingpin-g42-openai-china-2024-4">G42 have been busy securing their own big international deals</a>. Bragging rights are on the table.</p><h2 id="daf6e7aa-7788-42a8-84dd-cb066c69057e"><strong>Risky high-stakes game</strong></h2><div type="image" title="Prince Mohammed bin Salman in front of a black background." height="320" width="640" msid="112575436" hostid="261" sizebytes="15426"></div><p>However, while the Saudis prepare to continue flashing their cash abroad, the PIF faces some risks.</p><p>For one, the fund has had to learn the hard reality of going big, as a number of its high-profile investments overseas have struggled financially. Earlier this month, for instance, <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/middle-east-funds-racing-rescue-investments-saudi-arabia-pif-mubadala-2024-8">PIF had to plug a funding gap for Lucid</a> by pumping in an extra $1.5 billion.</p><p>The electric vehicle maker first <a target="_blank" href="https://lucidmotors.com/fr-ca/media-room/lucid-motors-executes-us1bn-investment-agreement-public-investment-fund-saudi-arabia">raised more than $1 billion from the Saudis in 2018</a> after <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/elon-musk-blames-saudi-investor-backpedaling-taking-tesla-private-trial-2023-1">PIF's talks with Elon Musk to take Tesla private fell through</a>, but has struggled with a high burn rate and waning demand for EVs.</p><p>PIF has also had to backstop another company. According to filings released in the UK this month, the fund has put $750 million into Magic Leap since the start of 2023, as it struggling to take its immersive reality headsets mainstream.</p><p>For Hertog, though companies like Lucid have "fallen on hard times" — and other bets from PIF on the likes of the <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/inside-softbank-vision-funds-awful-year-former-employees-rival-vcs-2022-12">SoftBank Vision Fund</a> have "indeed not done well" — it is still too early to say how the overall performance will turn out. The fund did swing to an annual profit in 2023 following an $11 billion loss the previous year, Bloomberg reported, though many bets are still in their early days.</p><p>"There are inherent risks in investing in new sectors so what matters is not individual failures but the performance of the whole portfolio," Hertog said.</p><p>PIF's tanglings with political figures are also raising concerns. Donald Trump's son-in-law Kushner, who started private equity firm Affinity Partners in 2021, <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/jared-kushner-private-equity-firm-funding-from-saudi-arabia-report-2022-4">received a $2 billion commitment from PIF</a> for its debut fund, with that commitment now facing an investigation by Senate Finance Committee chair Sen. Ron Wyden.</p><div type="image" title="Prince Mohammed bin Salman in front of a black background." height="320" width="640" msid="112575436" hostid="261" sizebytes="15426"></div><p>In <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.finance.senate.gov/chairmans-news/wyden-probes-kushner-firm-payments-from-gulf-states-potential-fara-loophole">a letter published in June</a>, the senator raised concerns that PIF and other Middle Eastern funds were "using payments to Affinity executives as a means to influence Kushner and other politically powerful individuals."</p><p>For Abdullah Alaoudh, a director at the Middle East Democracy Center, it seems clear that buying "a lot of influence" — or "whitewashing" as he puts it — is a key part of the fund's dealmaking overseas. If potential partners can gloss over some of its more controversial activities, such as <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/biden-investigation-us-military-aid-saudi-arabia-massacre-migrants-yemen-2023-9">the Kingdom's war in Yemen</a>, it'll have an easier time seeing deals through.</p><p>As Hertog notes, it's worth remembering that PIF's main priority remains its domestic portfolio. "While some domestic investments have been pruned, the fund's main ambition is domestic diversification," he said.</p><p>Still, Saudi Arabia seems intent on making its mark on the global stage through the PIF. The world will be keeping watch.</p><p>The PIF did not immediately respond to a request for comment from BI.</p>

Saudi Arabia is on a high-stakes mission to buy the world 

<ul class="summary-list"><li>The PGA Tour and LIV Golf are merging.</li><li>It's a shocking move after the rival tours spent the better part of a year feuding.</li></ul><p>The PGA Tour is <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2023/06/06/pga-tour-agrees-to-merge-with-saudi-backed-rival-liv-golf.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">merging with LIV Golf.</a></p><p>It's an earthquake in the golf world.</p><p>The two tours have bitterly feuded over the last 12 months as the Saudi-backed LIV has poached high-profile players away from the PGA Tour.</p><p>A statement reads:</p><p style="padding-left: 40px;"><em>The PGA TOUR, DP World Tour and the Public Investment Fund (PIF) today announced a landmark agreement to <a href="https://www.pgatour.com/article/news/latest/2023/06/06/pga-tour-dp-world-tour-and-pif-announce-newly-formed--commercial-entity-to-unify-golf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">unify the game of golf</a>, on a global basis. </em></p><p>The tours will form a new entity (name TBD). PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan will by the CEO of this entity, and PIF Governor Yasir Al-Rumayyan will be the chairman.</p><p>There's still a lot we don't know, but it's a total stunner.</p><p>The PGA and LIV had been locked a number of lawsuits. In addition, animosity between the players who took large paychecks to defect to LIV and the players who stayed on the PGA Tour spilled into public at times, including reports that LIV's Phil Mickelson <a href="https://bleacherreport.com/articles/10071320-phil-mickelson-didnt-speak-at-all-at-masters-champions-dinner-fuzzy-zoeller-says" target="_blank" rel="noopener">"didn't speak at all"</a> at a dinner with PGA Tour players at the Masters. As recently as Monday, a Golf Channel commentator called Mickelson a <a href="https://www.sbnation.com/2023/6/2/23747092/liv-golf-phil-mickelson-character-assassination-eamon-lynch" target="_blank" rel="noopener">"pawn for murderers,"</a> in reference to <a href="https://www.insider.com/the-murder-of-jamal-khashoggi-2019-10">the murder of Jamal Khashoggi</a> in 2018.</p><p>The announcement will be followed by "a mutually agreed end to all pending litigation" between the two entities, they said in a statement.</p><div type="image" title="LIV Golf scoreboard" height="1422" width="2500" msid="100800208" hostid="261" sizebytes="429826"></div><p>The merger comes a few weeks after Brooks Koepka, the best player to move to LIV, became the first LIV player to win a major. Interestingly, there were rumblings earlier in the year that Koepka was having <a href="https://firepitcollective.com/askalan-vol-56/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">"buyer's remorse"</a> about his decision and could come back to the PGA, according to journalist Alan Shupnick.</p>

The PGA Tour is merging with the Saudi-funded LIV Golf in a stunning move

<ul class="summary-list"><li>The Saudi Arabia-funded LIV Golf league is merging with the decades-old PGA Tour. </li><li>PGA officials only recently accused the Saudis of seeking to "sportswash" murder and oppression.</li></ul><p>Announcing that the PGA Tour golf competition would be merging with the Saudi Arabian funded upstart LIV Golf Tuesday, PGA Commissioner Jay Monahan hailed "a historic day for the game we all know and love."</p><p>At a stroke it washed away what only months before had been PGA's apparent ethical concerns about Saudi involvement in the sport given its history of human-rights abuses.</p><p>"This will engender a new era in global golf, for the better," <a href="https://www.pgatour.com/article/news/latest/2023/06/06/pga-tour-dp-world-tour-and-pif-announce-newly-formed--commercial-entity-to-unify-golf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said Monahan in a statement</a>, and praised Yasir Al-Rumayyan of Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund (PIF) for his "vision and collaborative and forward-thinking approach" in brokering the deal. </p><p>The shock announcement Tuesday ended months of feuding between the rival tournaments, and put a sudden stop to an intensifying legal battle.</p><p>The cash-rich LIV tournament has lured top players and influential political backers, including former President Donald Trump, and the tournaments have been locked in a feud over player contracts.</p><p>There is a stark contrast between how the PGA Tour talks about Saudi money in golf now versus its stance as recently as last fall.</p><p>In a September 2022 lawsuit, <a href="https://www.espn.com/golf/story/_/id/34689459/pga-tour-countersuit-claims-liv-golf-induced-golfers-breach-existing-contracts-offering-astronomical-sums-money" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported ESPN,</a> PGA Tour accused Saudi Arabia of using "astronomical sums of money … to use the LIV Players and the game of golf to sportswash the recent history of Saudi atrocities."</p><p>The atrocities critics have denounced Saudi Arabia for include the assassination of Saudi dissident Jamal Khashoggi in 2018, the persecution of critics, the brutal war waged in Yemen, and the treatment of women and minorities. </p><p>In the lawsuits, <a href="https://newrepublic.com/article/173285/pga-bends-knee-saudi-arabia#:~:text=to%20use%20the%20LIV%20Players,in%20mass%20starvation%20and%20death." target="_blank" rel="noopener">notes The New Republic,</a> Saudi Arabia acknowledged that its PIF operates as an arm of the Saudi state, whose de-facto leader Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman wields unchallenged power. </p><p> 9/11 Families United, a group that represents the families of those bereaved by the 9/11 attacks, has accused Saudi officials of complicity in the terror attacks, and on Tuesday denounced the PGA's alleged hypocrisy. </p><p>(Saudi officials have long denied the claims.)</p><p>"Now the PGA and Monahan appear to have become just more paid Saudi shills, taking billions of dollars to cleanse the Saudi reputation,"<a href="https://911familiesunited.org/9-11-families-united-statement-on-pga-merging-with-saudi-backed-liv-golf-tour/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">it said</a>.</p><p>The release cited comments by Monahan last year in which in reference to accusations of Saudi involvement in 9/11 said he asked players "have you ever had to apologise for being a member of the PGA Tour?" </p><p>The deal cements Crown Prince Mohammed's status as a major power player in global sports. In recent years, Saudi Arabia has bought the English Premier League club Newcastle United, as well as luring top players such as Karim Benzema to its domestic tournaments. Saudi Arabia has hosted major competitions in Formula 1 racing, boxing, e-sports and chess.</p>

PGA Tour once called LIV Golf a vehicle to 'sportswash Saudi atrocities.' It seems not to matter now they're merging.

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Saudi Arabia is in the process of reinventing itself.</li><li>The Gulf kingdom is racing to transform to stay relevant well into the 21st century.</li></ul><p>Saudi Arabia is in the midst of a once-in-a-lifetime reinvention that could make or break the most powerful kingdom in the Gulf.</p><p>After a near-century of relying on <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/saudi-putin-team-up-keep-oil-prices-high-annoy-us-2023-6?r=US&amp;IR=T">its oil riches</a>, the country has been scrambling to set a grand plan in motion that aims to do nothing short of transform its entire economy and pave the way to the future for a nation of youths hungry for opportunity.</p><p>The plan, known as <a target="_blank" href="https://www.vision2030.gov.sa/"><u>Vision 2030</u></a>, is being led by the desperately ambitious 38-year-old Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman, the de facto leader trying to cement both his legacy and the kingdom's place on the global stage — all by the close of the decade.</p><p>But radical reform has not been without controversy.</p><p>The kingdom's been under increasing scrutiny since the Crown Prince rose to power in 2017. Saudi Arabia sparked international outrage in 2018 after Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi was murdered at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, and continues to face accusations <a target="_blank" href="https://www.amnesty.org/en/location/middle-east-and-north-africa/saudi-arabia/report-saudi-arabia/">of human rights violations</a>.</p><p>Despite this, little has been able to stop Saudi Arabia from exerting more and more influence on the global stage.</p><p>It's opened its purse strings to direct billions of dollars towards everything from <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/saudi-arabia-qatar-uae-investment-hollywood-media-entertainment-mbs-khashoggi-2023-3#:~:text=Sovereign%20funds%20and%20other%20entities,East%20investors%20with%20American%20companies.">sports to media and entertainment</a> as part of an international spending spree aimed at helping it diversify beyond oil.</p><p>All this makes Saudi Arabia a country more relevant than ever. Here's a closer look at everything from its GDP to employment in the Gulf Kingdom.</p><h2><strong>An economy in boom mode</strong></h2><div type="image" title="Neom" height="9504" width="6336" msid="103553062" hostid="261" sizebytes="9340330"></div><p>Like many countries, Saudi Arabia's economy suffered when the pandemic struck in 2020, but the only way has been up since then.</p><p>It GDP soared past $1 trillion last year for the first time, while per- capita output stood at $30,436, up about 50% in just two years, according to <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-link--focus-visible" href="https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/NY.GDP.PCAP.CD?locations=SA">World Bank data</a>.</p><p>The growth phase, which secured the kingdom's spot as the G20's fastest-growing economy last year, was fueled by higher global energy prices as well as a 4.8% non-oil GDP growth thanks to a boom in areas such as construction and transport, <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-link--focus-visible" href="https://www.imf.org/en/News/Articles/2023/06/06/saudi-arabia-staff-concluding-statement-of-the-2023-article-iv-mission#:~:text=Saudi%20Arabia%20was%20the%20fastest%20growing%20G20%20economy%20in%202022.&amp;text=Wholesale%2C%20retail%20trade%2C%20construction%2C,drivers%20of%20non%2Doil%20growth.">per the IMF.</a></p><h2><strong>Oil is still king</strong></h2><div type="image" title="saudi aramco" height="1328" width="2000" msid="103553064" hostid="261" sizebytes="123204"></div><p>Saudi Arabia may be trying to reduce its reliance on oil revenues as part of its Vision 2030 plan for a diversified economy, but it's clear that crude still calls the shots for the world's top exporter.</p><p>An 8.7% economic expansion last year was driven by higher oil prices. <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-link--focus-visible" href="https://www.aramco.com/en/news-media/news/2023/aramco-announces-full-year-2022-results">Saudi Aramco, the majority state-owned oil major</a> that raised $25.6 billion in its 2019 IPO, made record profit of $161 billion last year, up from $110 billion in 2021.</p><p>Despite the resilience of oil demand even with the rise of renewable energy, Saudi Arabia's wants to increase the share of non-oil exports in non-oil GDP from 18.7% to 50%.</p><h2><strong>Money is being sprayed everywhere</strong></h2><div type="image" title="LIV golf" height="655" width="1024" msid="103553066" hostid="261" sizebytes="70122"></div><p>Both at home and far away, Saudi Arabia hasn't shied away from investing boatloads of cash. The investments are primarily led by the <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-link--focus-visible" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/saudi-arabia-public-investment-fund-pif-sports-influence-pga-liv-2023-6?r=US&amp;IR=T">Public Investment Fund</a>, the state's powerful sovereign wealth fund led by MBS and fund governor Yasir <a target="_blank" href="http://Al-Rumayyan.It">Al-Rumayyan.</a></p><p>It's the investment vehicle behind splashy deals in sports such as Saudi Arabia's takeover of Newcastle United and <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-link--focus-visible" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/pga-tour-merger-liv-golf-congress-hearing-saudi-arabia-2023-7?r=US&amp;IR=T">the LIV Golf merger with the PGA Tour</a>, to being the driving force behind Saudi Arabia's domestic investments in giga-projects like NEOM and the Red Sea <a target="_blank" href="http://resort.In">resort.</a></p><p>In August, the fund disclosed assets under management surpassed 2.23 trillion riyals ($594 billion) in 2022, <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-link--focus-visible" href="https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/saudi-public-investment-fund-managed-assets-surpasses-223-trillion-saudi-riyals-2023-08-06/#:~:text=Saudi%20Arabian%20Public%20Investment%20Fund%20says%20assets%20surpasses%202.23%20trillion%20riyals%20in%202022,-By%20Ahmed%20Elimam&amp;text=DUBAI%2C%20Aug%206%20(Reuters),trillion%20riyals%20(%24594.43%20billion).">Reuters reported</a>. Almost a quarter of those assets were international.</p><h2>A young population</h2><div type="image" title="Young people in Saudi Arabia." height="4000" width="5370" msid="103553068" hostid="261" sizebytes="418518"></div><p>Saudi's population is young and growing. The total hit 32.2 million in May with a median age of 29, according to <a target="_blank" href="https://www.stats.gov.sa/en/recent-releases">Saudi Arabia's General Authority for Statistics</a>.</p><p>The population has increased by a third in 13 years and more than half of Saudis are under 30, according to a 2022 census <a target="_blank" href="https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/saudi-population-322-mln-median-age-29-years-old-general-authority-statistics-2023-05-31/">reported by Reuters</a>.</p><p>The high proportion of young people attempting to enter the workforce is one of the MBS's biggest challenges. The prince has been attempting to diversify the economy and create opportunities for young workers.</p><h2>A hub for foreign nationals</h2><div type="image" title="Riyadh skyline." height="3168" width="4752" msid="103553070" hostid="261" sizebytes="690180"></div><p>Saudi Arabia, along with several other <a target="_blank" href="https://www.ilo.org/beirut/areasofwork/labour-migration/lang--en/index.htm">countries in the Arab States region</a>, is a key destination for foreign nationals. Just over 40% of the kingdom's total population are non-Saudis, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/saudi-population-322-mln-median-age-29-years-old-general-authority-statistics-2023-05-31/">per Reuters.</a></p><p>The country has been heavily reliant on migrant labor for some time, with many employed in sectors such as agriculture and domestic service industries. The country has faced criticism from <a target="_blank" href="https://www.amnesty.org/en/location/middle-east-and-north-africa/saudi-arabia/report-saudi-arabia/">international groups about its treatment</a> of migrant workers including the exclusions from some protections under national labor law.</p><p>The unemployment rate was 5.1% in the first quarter of this year, according to <a target="_blank" href="https://www.stats.gov.sa/sites/default/files/LMS%20Q1_2023_PR_EN.pdf">estimates based on an official labor force survey</a>. The country's average overall employment participation rate was 61.7% – 52.4% for Saudi nationals and 75.2% for non-Saudis.</p><p>Saudi women are also less likely to be working, with the unemployment rate for those aged 25 to 54 at 15.7% compared to just 3.5% for men in the same age bracket.</p><h2>Place in the Gulf States</h2><div type="image" title="Saudi energy minister" height="709" width="1024" msid="103553072" hostid="261" sizebytes="42466"></div><p>The Arab Gulf economies share similar characteristics and are all heavily reliant on oil or gas revenue.</p><p>While Saudi Arabia was the world's fastest-growing G20 economy last year, fellow Gulf states Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates<a target="_blank" href="https://www.imf.org/en/Publications/WEO/Issues/2023/04/11/world-economic-outlook-april-2023"><u> registered rapid growth as well</u></a>.</p><p>The kingdom registered the largest overall GDP in the Arab League last year.</p><p>Its record-setting $1 trillion economy was more than double the size of the UAE. The kingdom's GDP per capita, however, fell below figures recorded for Qatar, the UAE, and Kuwait, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.imf.org/external/datamapper/PPPPC@WEO/SAU/QAT/KWT/ARE/BHR/MEQ/MECA/OMN">per the IMF</a>.</p>

Saudi Arabia is spending billions on sports, tech and everything in between for a post-oil world

<ul class="summary-list"><li>LIV Golf is an upstart league backed by the Saudi government meant to compete with the PGA Tour.</li><li>Critics have accused LIV Golf as an example of "sportswashing," or using the love of sports to cleanse the image of an authoritarian regime, like Saudi Arabia.</li></ul><p>The golf world has been upended.</p><p>After decades of dominance by the PGA Tour, <a href="https://www.insider.com/liv-golf-top-100-players-strength-of-field-2022-7" target="_blank" rel="noopener">some of the best players in the world</a> have now jumped to a new league — LIV Golf. Backed by <a href="https://www.insider.com/liv-golf-tour-pga-exodus-shows-saudi-money-power-2022-6" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund</a>, LIV Golf was able to draw the likes of <a href="https://www.insider.com/phil-mickelson-play-liv-golf-contract-200-million-2022-6" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Phil Mickelson</a>, <a href="https://www.insider.com/dustin-johnson-liv-golf-statement-pga-tour-ban-2022-6" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Dustin Johnson</a>, and <a href="https://www.insider.com/liv-golf-who-is-playing-field-dustin-johnson-brooks-keopka-2022-6" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Brooks Koepka</a> away from the PGA Tour with huge purses, even bigger guaranteed paydays, and a lighter schedule.</p><p>The new league, and the players that have made the jump over, have come under scrutiny, particularly due to the source of the cash that is supporting the breakaway project. Given Saudi Arabia's history of human rights violations, including <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/biden-mbs-responsible-for-jamal-khashoggi-murder-2022-7" target="_blank" rel="noopener">the murder of Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi</a>, critics have decried the new league as a blatant act of "sportswashing" — an attempt by the Saudi government to launder its image on the international stage by co-opting people's love of sport.</p><p>The term has been used to describe <a href="https://www.hrw.org/news/2022/01/05/human-rights-abuses-will-taint-olympics-and-world-cup-its-time-end-sportswashing" target="_blank" rel="noopener">several recent and upcoming international sporting events</a>, including recent Winter Olympics in Sochi and Beijing, and the upcoming FIFA World Cup in Qatar.</p><p>But beyond hosting events, sportswashing has also been used to describe other investments that several oil-rich countries have made in the world of sports, including Qatar's ownership of the football club Paris Saint-Germain and Saudi Arabia's investment in Premier League club Newcastle United, which was made from the same fund behind LIV Golf.</p><h2><strong>Sportswashing is a relatively new term, but has been practiced for generations on the international stage</strong></h2><p>It's undeniable that the term sportswashing is having a moment.</p><p>"The widespread use [of it] in the past month and a half is kind of an explosion of the word," Richard Lapchick, director of The Institute For Diversity And Ethics In Sport, told Insider.</p><p>"Sportswashing is when a nation tries to use the love that people have and the passion they have for sports to help them ignore what might be the reality of the politics of the country," Lapchick explained.</p><div type="image" title="Fans watch the final round of the Bedminster Invitational LIV Golf tournament in Bedminster, N.J." height="1732" width="2310" msid="93306833" hostid="261" sizebytes="470304"></div><p>But while the widespread use of the term is relatively new, it's been practiced by governments for years.</p><p>Perhaps the most obvious historical example is the Berlin Summer Olympics, hosted in Nazi Germany in 1936. But four years before that, the second ever World Cup was hosted by Italy, at that point ruled by Fascist dictator Benito Mussolini. Some have even argued that the gladiator battles of Ancient Rome could be considered a form of sportswashing, quelling the masses with the entertainment of sport.</p><p>Lapchick has personally worked against the efforts of sportswashing, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/1977/05/24/archives/coalition-set-up-for-boycott-of-south-africa-coalition-set-for.html">having helped lead the sports boycott of apartheid South Africa</a> in the late 1970s. A close friend to Muhammad Ali, Lapchick <a href="https://www.espn.com/boxing/story/_/id/16001388/richard-lapchick-remembers-friend-muhammad-ali">was a part of the group that convinced the greatest boxer of all time not to take a fight in South Africa</a> while it was an apartheid state.</p><p>Back then, sportswashing wasn't a part of the collective vocabulary, but now, as it has gained prominence, it's worth examining what exactly is meant by those that use it and why it's important for the sports world to understand it.</p><h2><strong>Whether or not a project is sportswashing can depend on who is asking and who is answering the question</strong></h2><p>Because sportswashing is a new term, its exact definition, and specifically, the subtext it carries can be a bit muddied — what's sportswashing to one person or country may just look like an exercise in soft power to another.</p><p>"The popular discourse around this term sportswashing has, I think, become overly simplistic," Simon Chadwick, Global Professor of Sport at Emlyon Business School, told Insider.</p><p>According to Chadwick, the term first gained traction among cause groups, such as Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International.</p><p>"They were using the term in the context specifically of, very often, Asian nations," Chadwick said. "The usual suspects inevitably would include the likes of Qatar and China, and more recently Saudi Arabia has ascended to that membership."</p><div type="image" title="Costa Rica's fans cheer before the World Cup 2022 qualifying play-off soccer match between New Zealand and Costa Rica in Al Rayyan, Qatar." height="1612" width="2150" msid="93306836" hostid="261" sizebytes="172726"></div><p>"It's just a way of describing nations that we feel uncomfortable about," Chadwick said. "And for me, we often don't know why we feel uncomfortable about these nations."</p><p>This is not to say that there is not good reason to be uncomfortable with some of the nations accused of sportswashing. Rather, there is a distinction worth identifying between what is widely described as sportswashing and what is considered an exercise in soft power by the international world.</p><p>"Soft power is legitimacy-seeking behavior. It is seen by many nations around the world as a legitimate pursuit to try and enhance your attractiveness," Chadwick said. "Whereas obviously sportswashing is seen as something deviant, and therefore, somehow isn't seen as a globally legitimate means through which to try and shift perceptions."</p><p>The case of Saudi Arabia's investment in LIV Golf shows how both terms can apply to the same situation.</p><p>In 2021, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/us-report-on-khashoggi-killing-directly-implicates-saudi-arabia-mbs-2021-2">the Biden administration released a report</a> that directly implicated Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Muhammad bin Salman in the killing of the Washington Post journalist Khashoggi. If LIV Golf is viewed as an act of sportswashing, one could argue that its purpose, at least in part, is to shift the conversation surrounding Saudi Arabia away from Khashoggi's death, and other human rights violations, and instead focus the public's attention on golf.</p><p>At the same time, if LIV Golf is viewed as an exercise in soft power, one can make the case that it is a legitimate investment in diversifying the interests of Saudi Arabia.</p><p>"A really important word about this is <em>intent</em>," Chadwick explained. "With soft power, the intention is to get people to like you. Whereas the intent behind sportswashing is basically to mislead people."</p><p>Intent, however, is a very tricky thing the suss out. </p><h2><strong>Whether sportswashing works is also a complicated question</strong></h2><p>Another difficult aspect of the term "sportswashing" is that it implies that the effort is effective. People are concerned with sportswashing because it means that a country is working to launder its reputation through sport, and its success feels inevitable.</p><p>But at least through the early coverage of LIV Golf, which has featured golfers constantly questioned about taking problematic money, as well as protests at several events, it feels apparent that at least thus far, the opposite might be true. Rather than wash away the human rights record of Saudi Arabia, the emergence of LIV Golf has instead put them under a microscope, starting with one of the league's very own stars.</p><p>"They're <a href="https://firepitcollective.com/blood-oil-golf-pga-premier-golf-league/">scary motherfuckers </a>to get involved with," Phil Mickelson, one of the first players to shift from the PGA Tour to LIV Golf, told longtime golf journalist Alan Shipnuck in an interview last November. "We know they killed [<em>Washington Post</em> reporter and U.S. resident Jamal] Khashoggi and have a horrible record on human rights. They execute people over there for being gay. Knowing all of this, why would I even consider it? Because this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to reshape how the PGA Tour operates."</p><div type="image" title="Phil Mickelson tees off the 16th hole during the first round of the Bedminster Invitational LIV Golf tournament in Bedminster, NJ." height="1886" width="2514" msid="93306838" hostid="261" sizebytes="132282"></div><p>When Mickelson's comments were published, it felt for a moment that LIV might never get off the ground. It also ensured that every player that made the decision to leave for LIV would likely be asked about their own justifications for joining up with the new league.</p><p>Indeed, <a href="https://www.policyforum.net/sport-washing-soft-power-and-scrubbing-the-stains/">Chadwick has written in the past</a> that at least in the immediate aftermath of an event some might label as "sportswashing," the effect is closer to "sports-staining," given the new scrutiny that the country in question comes under.</p><p>That said, as a long-term play, sportswashing can be effective. As Lapchick explains, while the initial interest in an event might bring increased international scrutiny, in the case of LIV, it's likely that interest in the sportswashing aspect of the story will wane in favor of talking about golf.</p><p>"This is a long-term investment, and they believe — and history would say that they're probably right — that the interest that you have as a reporter [in sportswashing] won't be there six months from now or in the second year of LIV," Lapchick said.</p><h2><strong>We won't have answers about LIV Golf until some time in the future</strong></h2><p>Ironically, the athletes that jumped to LIV Golf have often given the best definitions of sportswashing, while responding to accusations of being used as tools of sportswashing.</p><p>Speaking with reporters ahead of the first LIV event, Graeme McDowell broke it all down rather succinctly.</p><p>"This has been incredibly polarizing. I think we all agree up here, take the Khashoggi situation; we all agree that's reprehensible. Nobody is going to argue that fact," McDowell said. "But we are golfers.</p><p>"We are not politicians….  If Saudi Arabia wanted to use the game of golf as a way for them to get to where they want to be and they have the resources to accelerate that experience, I think we are proud to help them on that journey, using the game of golf and the abilities that we have to help grow the sport and take them to where they want to be."</p><p>Already though, it's possible that the initial sportswashing effects of LIV Golf's have begun to take hold. With each passing tournament and each new player making the jump from the PGA Tour, the questions are less pressing, and have become easier to answer. There is strength in numbers.</p><p>Further, as LIV hosted its third event at Trump National Bedminster, former President Donald Trump was <a href="https://www.insider.com/liv-golf-review-trump-bedminster-exhibition-henrik-stenson-wyclef-jean-2022-8" target="_blank" rel="noopener">extremely present throughout the weekend</a>, including standing on the podium to congratulate the winners alongside Yasir Al Rumayyan, the Governor of Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund. The two had teed off together to begin Thursday's pro-am, and now stood together again in front of a crowd that had chanted "Four more years!" several times throughout the day.</p><div type="image" title="Former President Donald Trump, left, talks with Yasir Al-Rumayyan, governor of Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund." height="1716" width="2288" msid="93306840" hostid="261" sizebytes="172470"></div><p>LIV's final event of the season is set to be contested at Trump's course in Miami, and it's possible that his courses will host even more events in 2023. With a continued investment, LIV Golf could stay in his good graces, and maybe bring a good amount of his supporters around with him. For his part, Trump seems willing to help.</p><p>"I think LIV has been a great thing for Saudi Arabia, for the image of Saudi Arabia," Trump <a href="https://www.insider.com/trump-liv-golf-saudi-arabia-jamal-khashoggi-2022-7" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said in an interview with the Wall Street Journal</a> ahead of LIV's event at his course in Bedminster, New Jersey. "I think it's going to be an incredible investment from that standpoint, and that's more valuable than lots of other things because you can't buy that — even with billions of dollars."</p><p>"I can say that from the standpoint of Khashoggi, that has died down so much," Trump said. "It really seems to have totally died down."</p><p>Indeed, that's precisely the idea.</p>

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FIFA World Cup: Teams to start arriving in Doha from Nov 7

IANS

Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi said Jamal Khashoggi's murder was 'a mistake' by the Saudi government

Rosie Perper,Rosie Perper

Uber's CEO is 'anxious' for more details about murdered journalist Jamal Khashoggi, but says Saudi Arabia still deserves a board seat

Shona Ghosh

Saudi Arabia is on a high-stakes mission to buy the world

Hasan Chowdhury

The PGA Tour is merging with the Saudi-funded LIV Golf in a stunning move

Tony Manfred

PGA Tour once called LIV Golf a vehicle to 'sportswash Saudi atrocities.' It seems not to matter now they're merging.

Tom Porter

Saudi Arabia is spending billions on sports, tech and everything in between for a post-oil world

Beatrice Nolan,Hasan Chowdhury

LIV Golf has brought 'sportswashing' into everyday conversation. But what is the Saudi government really doing and why should people care?

Tyler Lauletta