Spanish league president Javier Tebas previously criticised Saudi Arabia’s human rights record when Supercopa was moved to Riyadh.
LaLiga has agreed a global partnership with Visit Saudi, the tourism board of Saudi Arabia, designed to amplify the kingdom as a travel destination.
Contract:
- Partnership will involve a series of activities, starting with a high-profile launch event in Saudi Arabia
- Terms of the deal are vague, beyond promising collaboration between the two parties, traditional sponsorship elements, digital content and immersive events
- According to Spanish outlet 2Playbook, the deal is worth more than €20 million (US$21.7 million) annually
Context:
In 2021, LaLiga President Javier Tebas criticised Saudi Arabia for using sport to improve its image after the Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) agreed a deal to hold the Supercopa de España in Riyadh, an agreement which was later extended and will now see the four-team mini-tournament hosted in Saudi Arabia until at least 2029.
Under the country’s Vision 2030 plan, Saudi Arabia has been aggressively pursuing deals in various sport, including significant investment in its domestic Saudi Pro League, the LIV Golf series and hosting an increasing number of high-profile events.
The Saudi Tourism Authority also has deals with Twenty20 cricket’s Indian Premier League (IPL) and a big-money personal endorsement contract with Lionel Messi, but was forced out of an agreement to sponsor the 2023 Fifa Women’s World Cup after backlash from several stakeholders, including high-profile players.
Comment:
Speaking about Supercopa deal in 2021, Tebas said: “The Saudi Arabian government has a policy whereby they improve the image of the government through sport, whitewashing their image and we all have a responsibility there.
“One thing is to sell our broadcasting rights and the other thing is to go to that country where there are issues around human rights. We should not forget what happened in the Turkish embassy 18 months ago with another journalist [Jamal Khashoggi]. We should not forget these things. This happened in an embassy, not a bar and this is very serious, at least in my opinion. Money is not the only thing that matters.
“The idea of having a game there was very unfortunate because of the human rights issue and also what happened in that embassy. We are talking about going to a country to host different sporting events, sporting events that are very popular and are broadcasted and this is something different. It is not the same as maybe a British company that is going to build a metro line there. Building a railway line in Riyadh will not impact human rights but we are talking about whitewashing the image of a country. The money they paid for the Supercopa I’m sure they must have lost money, millions of euros.”
Coming next:
With LaLiga’s expertise, Visit Saudi will seek to spark a renewed interest in soccer-driven tourism, with further activations planned beyond the initial Saudi-based launch event.
Source: https://www.sportspromedia.com/news/laliga-visit-saudi-arabia-sponsorship-tebas/