D'Arcy Waldegrave: If you haven’t heard, the Saudi Arabians have won sport.

If you haven’t heard, the Saudi Arabians have won sport. Hands down. Gold medal. World number 1. Yellow jersey. Heavyweight strap. Green jacket. Biggest trophy in sport. 

The Saudis, via their obscene oil wealth, have purchased global sport. Or are in the process of at least. 

Through their Public Investment Fund, with assets estimated to be worth US $700 billion, they’ve bought the souls of footballers. They’ve ring-fenced golfers with platinum credit cards. The best pugilists on the planet have been knocked out with diamond-encrusted gloves. UFC have clipped the ticket. The sailing community have been wooed with the promise of millions. Formula 1 has its bloated greedy hands well stuffed into the Saudi cookie jar. Now clubs in British rugby union are reportedly being targeted by the monstrous ‘sport washing’ fund and news of a Saudi cycling league has broken. I’m sure that administrators across all sports are waiting for the phone call.  

This fiscal vacuuming of sport across the planet shows no sign of abating. The Scrooge McDuck-like money bin they have access to, casts an enormous shadow over all competition, making their appalling human rights record very difficult to see.  

Cash convenient wilful ignorance. 

Blinded by inconceivable riches, those entranced by Saudi largesse have all rolled out the same avoidant rhetoric around the importance of Middle Eastern growth for the future of their sport, the wonderment of the Saudi change of attitude, the ease of business, the ability to bring a shift in philosophy from within, the misinterpretation from the west around values, the list goes on. 

The convenient myopia around the Saudi royal family’s human rights record is hardly surprising because as the Saudis have found out, everyone has a price. A price that can be afforded in the blink of an eye by the Public Investment fund. Chump change if you will, which I’m sure is how the acquiescent parties are seen by the Saudis. Chumps. 

Let’s face it, when the de facto ruler, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman says this - “If sport washing is going to increase my GDP by way of 1%, then I will continue doing sport washing”, you know they've won.  

They just don’t care and obviously, their new sporting minions don’t care either. 

That’ll do.  

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