Albaab
JF-Expert Member
- Jun 6, 2015
- 1,606
- 2,281
Most of the serious money flowing into football recently has come from the Middle East. The Qatar Investment Authority (the country's sovereign wealth fund) bought the French Ligue 1 side Paris St Germain in 2011 and has gone about transforming them in the same way Sheikh Mansour has Manchester City.
According to Deloitte, seven of the 20 largest football clubs in the world by revenue are sponsored by Middle East airlines including Barclelona (Qatar Airlines), Real Madrid, Paris St Germain, Arsenal, AC Milan (all Fly Emirates) and Manchester City (Etihad).
Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Qatar and Bahrain are all small but rich Gulf states with global ambitions. Football is seen as an important way of expanding their brands, but of course they are also in competition with each other.
Football is being used as a geopolitical tool, with many of these investments ultimately government-backed through sovereign wealth funds.
Even though Qatar has no football history or infrastructure, it won the right to host the 2022 World Cup and will lavish a huge budget on the tournament.
Measured by GDP per head, Qatar is the richest nation on earth, but is small, has substantial oil reserves and happens to be situated in a relatively unstable part of the world. By using football, they are putting themselves on the map and even adding a bit more security.
In conclusion, buying a football club has definitely helped increase the brand value of certain clubs and with the financial backings received from these investors, clubs are able to compete at the highest levels. For the owners, it is a way to promote themselves and their nation on a global scale.