Saudi Arabia and professional football

This article critically examines common criticisms of Saudi Arabia’s sports strategy, particularly its impact on professional football. Central to Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 is a significant investment in sports, demonstrated by hosting major international events and acquiring both domestic and foreign sports teams. Critics argue that this approach risks undermining football as a sport, and some claim that foreign players who join Saudi clubs engage in morally questionable behavior. This article challenges these critiques. While acknowledging the moral shortcomings of Saudi Arabia’s political system, it contends that the prevailing criticisms about state-owned clubs "ruining" football and the moral culpability of foreign players are flawed. A key conclusion is that the commercial interactions of foreign football players (e.g., Ronaldo) and multinational corporations (e.g., IKEA) with the Saudi regime must be assessed consistently. These interactions are either all morally permissible or all morally impermissible; there is no defensible middle ground for differing moral evaluations.