The Risks of Saudi Arabia's Investment in Sport

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Saudi Arabia has invested in Newcastle and is set to take part in the Champions League this season. But it faces two big risks, one of which is that its business models may not work. Sport can be a very sensitive industry in which to invest; Saudi Arabia's status as an autocratic state complicates its investments in sport. It doesn't look as though Saudi Arabia's autocratic politics will prevent it from taking a growing role in global sports. Its reputation may make deals trickier but they also reflect a sense that there's a bit of a window of opportunity at the moment inglobal sports.

Crown Prince Muhammad bin Salman says a presence in top-level global sport is one route to modernising; critics call the effort a distraction from the country’s appalling human-rights record. Brazil’s government is pushing reforms that are clearly calming investors, who had fretted about a return to ruinously spendthrift policies (9:20). And how speedy “first-person-view” drones are changing the fight in Ukraine (16:25).

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