Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Sport has announced the privatization of three football clubs – the Al-Ansar FC, the Al-Kholood Club and the Al-Zulfi FC.
A foreign company – the Harburg Group – sealed the purchase of the top-flight Saudi Arabian football club – the Al Kholood Club – a first in the Kingdom – Saudi Arabia’s Sports Ministry said recently as it announced the privatization of the above three teams.
‘GULF NEWS’ stated that the Harburg Group (a newly-formed global sports investment firm) – led by American Ben Harburg – said it had “officially completed the 100 percent acquisition of the Al-Kholood Club of the Saudi Pro League as part of the groundbreaking privatization initiative of the Saudi Vision 2030.”
Riyadh (Saudi Arabia)-based the Saudi Pro League (SPL), also known as the Roshn Saudi League (RSL) for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Saudi Arabia and the highest level of the Saudi football league system.
Riyadh (Saudi Arabia)-based the Saudi Arabian Football Federation (SAFF) is the football governing body of Saudi Arabia. Founded in 1956, its responsibilities include administration of the club competitions and the national teams. The Founder of the Federation is Prince Abdullah bin Faisal.
The Al-Kholood Club is a Saudi Arabian professional football club based in Ar Rass (Saudi Arabia). The club competes in the Saudi Pro League, the highest level of the Saudi football league system.
The 5,100-capacity Al-Hazem Club Stadium is a multiuse stadium in Ar Rass, Saudi Arabia. It is currently used mostly for football matches.
The Saudi Vision 2030 is a Government program launched by Saudi Arabia which aims to achieve the goal of increased diversification economically, socially and culturally in line with the vision of the Saudi Crown Prince and the Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman. It was first announced on April 25th, 2016 by the Saudi Government.
‘GULF NEWS’ further stated that last season the Al Kholood finished ninth out of the 18 teams in the Saudi Pro League.
The Harburg Group currently owns a 6.5 percent stake in the LaLiga 2 team Cádiz CF (Spain).
A separate statement sent out by Saudi Arabia’s Sports Ministry read, “The first three Saudi sports clubs have been privatized through a public offering – the Al-Ansar FC, the Al-Kholood Club and the Al-Zulfi FC – with their ownership transferred to the investment entities.”
The Al-Ansar FC is a Saudi Arabian professional multisports club based in Medina (a City in Saudi Arabia) that plays in the Saudi Second Division, the third tier of Saudi football. It was founded in 1953. The club play their home games at the 5,000-capacity Al-Ansar Club Stadium in Medina.
The Al-Zulfi FC is a Saudi Arabian football club based in Al-Zulfi (City in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia) and competes in the Saudi First Division League, the second tier of the Saudi Arabian football league system. The 1,000-capacity Al-Zulfi Club Stadium serves as their home ground.
The ownership of the Al-Zulfi FC was transferred to Nujoum Al-Salam (a Riyadh-based private Saudi investment entity) and the Al-Ansar FC ownership transfer was a joint venture between the Audat Al-Biladi and Ayana.
Saudi Arabia is giving a lot of impetus on football by spending heavily on stars from Europe starting with the soccer great Cristiano Ronaldo’s (Portuguese footballer) move in late 2022 and the desert nation will host the World Cup in 2034.
The 2034 FIFA World Cup™ will be the 25th FIFA World Cup™, a quadrennial international football tournament contested by the Men’s national teams of the member associations of FIFA. In December 2024, Saudi Arabia was formally confirmed as the host nation by FIFA following an uncontested bidding process. It will be the third tournament hosted in Asia after Korea and Japan in 2002 and Qatar in 2022. Saudi Arabia will be the second host nation from the Arabian Peninsula in the space of 12 years. It will also be the first time the tournament is hosted by a single nation since 2022.
Sports are a major component of the Vision 2030 reform agenda overseen by the Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman which aims to diversify the economy of the world’s top crude oil exporter.
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