The LIV Golf-PGA Tour merger has been something that has been heavily critiqued. This is largely because of LIV Golf’s connection with the Saudi Arabian government that has a number of human rights violations tied to it. Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman addressed the matter, as well as “sportswashing” allegations in an interview on Wednesday.
The Saudi government has had an increasingly strong grasp on the sports world in recent years. Not only did LIV Golf take a number of golf stars from the PGA Tour, the Saudi’s have had a very strong influence in the world of soccer.
Saudi soccer club Al Hilal notably offered a $1 billion contract to Kylian Mbappé, one of the best soccer players in the world, back in July. Star soccer player Cristiano Ronaldo Ronald also plays for Saudi Pro League club Al-Nassr.
The Saudi Prince spoke to Fox News for the first time since 2019 on Wednesday. He largely said that he doesn’t care whatsoever what people think about his potential “sports washing,” citing the financial gains involved in diving into professional sports.
“If sports washing going to increase my GDP by way of one percent, then I will continue doing sport washing,” he declared. “I don’t care. One percent growth of GDP from sport and I’m aiming for another one-and-a-half percent – call it whatever you want, we’re going to get that one-and-a-half percent.”
He then specifically referenced his investment in LIV Golf, saying that the merger with the PGA Tour is a “game-changer” for the world of golf.
“That’s a game changer for the golf industry,” bin Salman, known as MBS, told Fox News. “You have competition and you have focus on developing the game. That’s good for the players and the fans who love golf.”
It certainly seems pretty clear that despite criticism from most sports fans on the matter, bin Salman and the rest of Saudi Arabia as a whole has no plan to being involved in professional sports anytime soon.
[Fox News]
