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Mohammed Bin Salman, the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia, made a shocking admission on Thursday when he said that his country partakes in sportswashing and plans to continue to do so.
Sportswashing is a term created in 2015 and is defined as “the use of an athletic event by an individual or a government, a corporation, or another group to promote or burnish the individual’s or group’s reputation, especially amid controversy or scandal” by Encyclopaedia Britannica.
No country in the world has invested as heavily in sports in recent years as Saudi Arabia.
Most notably, the country funded and created the controversial LIV Golf Series. The league later merged with PGA and DP World Tours in an equally controversial move.
But it doesn’t stop there.
Saudi Arabia also invested heavily in its league, the Saudi Pro League.
Superstars such as Cristiano Ronaldo, Neymar and Karim Benzema all joined the league in recent years.
Bin Salman spoke with Fox News’ Bret Baier about the massive investment. His answers regarding the alleged sportswashing were more than a little surprising.
“Well if sportswashing is going to increase my GDP by 1 percent, then we’ll continue doing sportwashing,” Bin Salman said about the efforts. “I don’t care. I have 1 percent growth in GDP from sport and I’m aiming for another 1-and-a-half percent, call it whatever you want, we’re going to get that 1-and-a-half percent.”
It’s the first on-record admission from the country about its intent to use sport to gain influence and shape narratives.
Of course, the country is not alone in pursuing this model.
Both Russia and Qatar are accused of doing when they hosted the 2018 and 2022 FIFA World Cups. But neither country flat out stated that this was their goal.
Bin Salman clearly believes in the plan he has for his country. And it appears that he’s only just getting started with the investment.