May 21 – Hatice Cengiz, the fiancee of murdered journalist Jamal Khashoggi, has demanded a meeting with Premier League boss Richard Masters to discuss the proposed £300 million takeover of Newcastle United by the Saudi Public Investment Fund, PIF, a finance vehicle closely associated to Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman.
April 24 – Saudi Arabia is to suspend funding to sports and football clubs in an attempt to curb budget deficits amid the global coronavirus crisis, the country’s finance minister Mohammed Al-Jadaan has announced.
By Andrew Warshaw
April 22 – In a highly unusual move, the English Premier League has been urged by one of its major broadcast partners as well as one of the world’s leading human rights organisations to consider blocking a Saudi-backed consortium’s bid to buy Newcastle United.
By Samindra Kunti
February 5 – Saudi Arabia has announced it has entered the bidding to stage the 2027 Asian Cup. The blue riband Asian Football Confederation (AFC) event for national men’s teams was successfully expanded to 24 teams for the UAE hosting last year. In 2023 it will be hosted in China.
By Paul Nicholson
January 28 – BeoutQ may have stopped satellite transmission but the issues of piracy and the Saudi Arabian support for the rogue broadcaster still remain. BeoutQ’s decoder boxes are still in circulation and providing illegal access to third-party IPTV pirate apps streaming stolen live sports content, including all the world’s major football competitions.
January 27 – South Korea won the final of the AFC U23 Championship with a 1-0 victory over Saudi Arabia after defeating Saudi Arabia 1-0 in the final in Thailand with a goal in extra-time from Jeong Tae-uk.
January 13 – Real Madrid beat Atletico Madrid 4-1 on penalties to win the Spanish Super Cup after the money-driven revamped tournament, exported to Saudi Arabia, ended in a less than thrilling goalless draw.
January 10 – Amid all the criticism over human rights abuses and accusations of sports washing at the address of Saudi Arabia and its hosting of the Spanish Super Cup, Atletico Madrid tore up the script on Thursday in Jeddah by defeating FC Barcelona 2-3 to set up a Spanish Super Cup final against city rivals Real Madrid.
January 7 – The revamped Spanish Super Cup gets under way in Saudi Arabia on Wednesday but few Spanish fans have made the trip amid heightened political tensions in the region and mounting criticism of the tournament being held in another Continent in a country long condemned for its human rights record.
By Samindra Kunti
December 23 – Lazio defeated Juventus 3-1 to win the Italian Super Cup, controversially staged in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, its second season in the country.
November 15 – The criticism of the Spanish FA’s (RFEF) decision to move its Super Cup to Saudi Arabia in a €130 million deal is now alienating broadcast partners with state broadcaster RTVE saying it will not bid for the TV rights due to human rights concerns.
November 13 – Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain have reversed their decision to boycott the Gulf Cup in Qatar and will participate in the tournament which kicks off on November 24.
By Andrew Warshaw
June 12 – Following in the footsteps of Serie A, Spanish authorities have confirmed that the Spanish Super Cup will be controversially played in Saudi Arabia in January next year.
By Andrew Warshaw
November 8 – In a move that is bound to incur the wrath of beIN Sports and will also have alarmed UEFA, Serie A have confirmed that the Italian SuperCup will be held in Saudi Arabia for the second consecutive year.
October 9 – Saudi Arabia will stage another high-profile friendly between Brazil and Argentina in November as part of the Riyadh Season, the country’s General Entertainment Authority, headed by Turki Al-Sheikh, announced.