The Public Investment Fund, Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund, has made its first investment into soccer in North America through a new multiyear partnership with CONCACAF. The two organizations come together as North America prepares to host the 2026 men’s World Cup and potentially the 2031 Women’s World Cup.
The agreement was announced on Thursday, with both sides promising to help grow the game in North America, the Caribbean and Central America. A press release said PIF’s involvement will help CONCACAF increase the number of official youth competitions that will serve as qualification tournaments for FIFA under-17 and under-20 World Cups.
“Together, we will advance a series of initiatives to create a positive and lasting impact across all CONCACAF competitions,” PIF’s head of corporate brand Mohamed Alsayyad said in a statement.
PIF planted its flag in soccer when it purchased four of Saudi Arabia’s top clubs, including Al-Nassr, which signed the Portuguese superstar Cristiano Ronaldo to the richest contract in sports that pays him $215 million per year. The fund is also part of a consortium that owns the English Premier League team Newcastle United.
The fund has long built its name in sports investments, but as part of the Saudis’ “Vision 2030” campaign, the portfolio exploded in wider notoriety in 2021 when it launched LIV Golf and bought Newcastle. (The anticipated merger between LIV, the PGA Tour and the DP World Tour has yet to be completed, and LIV has recently eased up on its lobbying efforts as Congress focuses on the fund itself.)
Jeddah is home to the Saudi Arabia Grand Prix, the final race in the F1 calendar. WWE maintains its longstanding relationship with the Saudis, which began in 2014, by hosting two “premium live events” per year as part of a 10-year agreement signed in 2018. Several boxing and mixed martial arts promotions, including Top Rank, Matchroom Boxing and the Professional Fighters League, regularly host events throughout the country.
In March, the fund offered to purchase the ATP and WTA outright for $2 billion, with rumors of merging both tours running high. In the meantime, PIF has developed a working relationship with the ATP and aims to do the same with the WTA.
The WTA’s potential relationship with PIF has raised eyebrows, given the Saudi kingdom’s human rights issues and the fact that women have only been allowed to play tennis in Saudi Arabia since 2018. With PIF’s new alignment with CONCACAF, those same concerns are likely to come up as the U.S. and Mexico plan a joint bid to host the 2031 Women’s World Cup.
Saudi Arabia itself will host the 2034 men’s World Cup. It was the lone bidder for the event.
