MIRROR
The cynical concept of using the power of sport to launder a country’s tarnished image has been around for a long time.
Sportswashing spans Hitler’s 1936 Berlin Olympics to Russia’s 2018 World Cup, four years after annexing Crimea.
But oil-rich Saudi Arabia, where an average of 129 executions were held each year between 2015 and 2022, is taking sportswashing into a whole new league.
This week the nation stunned the golf world by effectively taking control of a large slice of the sport – just one year after launching a multi-billion pound circuit to rival America’s PGA Tour.
The PGA and DP World Tour announced they are to merge with LIV, with Yasir al-Rumayyan, head of the Saudi Public Investment Fund, becoming chair of the new golf empire.
LIV, funded with £2bn from PIF, had poached some of the best players with mega deals, such as Phil Mickelson, who defected last year for £200m. He described Tuesday as an “awesome day”.
Others, like Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy, who turned down £700m and £400m respectively, will be somewhat less happy, as they’ll now have to work with LIV anyway, effectively for free.
But if you believe driving a wedge between the best golfers is the height of Saudi’s sports ambitions, think again.
