RIYADH: Discipline and focus is turning Saudi Arabia into a regional hub for sporting events, along with organizational prowess, its young population and a proven history of determination, experts have told Arab News.
In October, a report released by PwC Middle East projected that Saudi Arabia’s sports market is expected to triple to $22.4 billion by 2030, creating 39,000 jobs and adding $13.3 billion to the Kingdom’s gross domestic product.
Saudi Arabia is gearing up to host major sporting events in the near future, including the 2029 Asian Winter Games and the much-anticipated FIFA World Cup in 2034.
Strengthening the sporting sector is one of the crucial goals outlined in the Vision 2030 agenda, as the Kingdom continues its economic diversification journey by reducing its reliance on crude revenues.
Speaking to Arab News, Nicolas Mayer, PwC Middle East partner, and tourism, sports and entertainment leader, said the defining factor for the Kingdom’s success in the sector has been discipline.
He said: “Saudi Arabia has been very clear about what it wants to build in sport and, just as importantly, it has stayed consistent in how it goes about it.
“Rather than chasing headlines in isolation, there has been a sustained focus on governance, infrastructure, talent pathways and delivery capability, with a strong emphasis on getting the basics right before scaling.”
Mayer added that Saudi Arabia has repeatedly demonstrated that it can plan, deliver and continuously improve the hosting of large, complex sporting events at a very high level.
“High-quality event delivery sends a signal not just about sporting ambition, but about organizational maturity, operational excellence and reliability at scale,” he said.
Samir Imran, partner, Arthur D. Little’s global head of sports, said a clear national mandate is helping boost the sector, alongside state execution power, coordinated investment via state-backed entities that can de-risk large early-stage bets, and a broader lifestyle and tourism push under Vision 2030’s Quality of Life program.
“With combat sports, football, motorsport, and now esports, each with different fan bases, seasons, and commercial dynamics, the ‘Saudi sports calendar’ becomes a year-round platform rivalling that of its neighbors in Qatar and the UAE,” added the Arthur D. Little official.
Economic opportunities
In April 2025, speaking at the Sports Investment Forum in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia’s Assistant Minister of Investment Ibrahim Al-Mubarak revealed the market value of the Saudi sports sector had reached SR32 billion ($8.53 billion), compared to less than SR5 billion at the time of the launch of Saudi Vision 2030 in 2016.
There are more growth opportunities on offer, as a report by Oliver Wyman released in November revealed that 85 percent of the Middle East’s population regularly consumes sport content, yet only 30 percent actively participate.
This significant participation gap reveals a $75 billion economic growth opportunity in the region — something Saudi Arabia is well placed to capitalize.
Federico Pienovi, CEO of APAC and MENA at Globant, said the Kingdom’s rise as a regional sports powerhouse is being powered by three reinforcing forces: ambition, infrastructure, and a digital-first fan economy.
He added: “There is a clear shift occurring in the sports industry, where the next era of sport leadership will come from organizations that can sense what’s happening in real time, predict what’s next, and orchestrate outcomes across multiple stakeholders — leagues, venues, clubs, broadcasters, sponsors, and fans — using agentic AI.”
Anil Singh, chief business officer at TASC Outsourcing, said that Saudi Arabia’s young population with a strong affinity for sport is shaping domestic demand across participation, spectatorship, and digital engagement.
“Professional training, recruitment of international specialists, and programs to upskill Saudi talent are creating an environment that can host world-class events while also maturing the local ecosystem. This links near-term execution to a durable workforce and a broader economic diversification agenda,” added Singh.
Hashem Daghestani, PwC Middle East partner for strategy and transformation, believes Saudi Arabia’s sports industry is entering a defining phase of development.
“To fully realize this potential, the focus must be on building sustainable foundations for long term success. This includes developing world-class multi-purpose infrastructure, establishing integrated elite and Olympic pathways, and expanding mass participation to drive health, inclusion, and talent development,” he added.
Beyond the events
The growth of the sports section in Saudi Arabia is not happening in isolation. Tourism, hospitality, and media, as well as logistics, production, security and professional services, are all sectors that benefit from the industry’s expansion.
PwC Middle East’s Mayer said: “As events recur and scale, skills become transferable, local businesses professionalize and new specializations emerge.
“This strengthens SMEs, deepens domestic capability and supports job creation that is more resilient than one-off event impacts.
“Over time, this translates into tangible GDP contribution and a pool of expertise that can be exported beyond the Kingdom.”
Arthur D. Little’s Imran believes Saudi Arabia is using sports as both a demand generator and a brand reset.
On the demand side, events are being designed to pull in visitors who spend on flights, hotels, restaurants, transport, and retail which are classic tourism multipliers. This gets further multiplied when the calendar is stacked.
“On the brand side, sports offers a global broadcast window that tourism marketing can’t buy at the same scale. Recent big-ticket boxing fights, SPL matches between rivals as well as the Italian and Spanish Super Cups offer a chance for more emotional storytelling. This aligns neatly with Vision 2030’s emphasis on building tourism as a core economic pillar,” said Imran.
Potential challenges
PwC Middle East’ Daghestani underscored the importance of embracing advanced technologies in the sporting sector to materialize the Kingdom’s ambition of becoming a sporting powerhouse.
He also said there is a need to build “robust multi-sport league structures, expanding professional and community clubs, and reinforcing school sports, leagues, and physical education capabilities to create a resilient and future ready sports ecosystem.”
Arthur D. Little’s Imran said commercial sustainability will be an ongoing talking point in the sector, adding: “There are efforts underway already by the Ministry of Sports to bring in more private sector investment and kick off initiatives to privatize stadiums as well as teams.”
He said: “Long-term success in more mature markets has also been driven by recurring revenue such as ticketing, sponsorship, media rights, memberships. The local ecosystem still has a long way to go to build on more innovative commercialization opportunities.”