Saudi Arabia’s Investments Raise Questions of ‘Sportswashing’

Saudi Arabia has rapidly become a global player in international sports, spending billions of dollars in recent years on several high-profile deals across the industry. Saudi officials say these government investments are part of a plan to diversify the country’s petroleum-based economy, but skeptics allege that Riyadh intends to use sports to enhance its prestige and cleanse its poor human rights record. Meanwhile, other Arab Gulf states are also ratcheting up their sports investments.