Saudi Arabia Investment Fund Officially Sponsors 2026 World Cup

JAKARTA - The Public Investment Fund of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (PIF) became the official sponsor of the 2026 World Cup tournament on Thursday, May 14, 2026, local time.

It reaffirms its commitment to investing heavily in sports despite significant pullbacks from other ventures in recent months.

In announcing the partnership, PIF said sports were a priority sector and football was crucial to Saudi Arabia's sustainable transformation.

PIF announced this month that it was halting future funding for LIV Golf - the breakaway tour it has poured billions of dollars into.

It raises questions about his long-term plans for other sports after massive spending in recent years.

Although the value of the 2026 World Cup deal, which includes North America and Asia, was not disclosed, it further strengthened the relationship between Saudi Arabia and FIFA.

As is known, PIF is a commercial partner for the 2025 Club World Cup, in addition to of course the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia which has won the right to host the 2034 World Cup, which further implies close ties with FIFA.

Meanwhile, SURJ Sports Investment owned by PIF also has a stake in the online streaming service DAZN, which will broadcast the 2025 Club World Cup.

According to FIFA's financial statements, television rights have contributed the majority of its annual revenue in 2025, worth more than 1 billion US dollars.

Football has become a major focus for Saudi Arabia as the country seeks to reduce its heavy reliance on oil and explore other revenue-generating sectors.

This includes attracting some of the sport's biggest stars, such as Cristiano Ronaldo, Neymar and Karim Benzema to its domestic league as well as buying English Premier League club Newcastle United.

Winning the right to host the 2034 World Cup is his most important achievement so far.

Investments in other sports include hosting several world championship boxing matches, Formula 1 racing, and tennis.

However, critics have accused the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia of sportswashing - using sport to improve its public image amid a record of human rights violations and the murder of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi in 2018.

The controversial launch of the LIV Golf tour in 2022 was a major change for the sport by attracting top players, such as Bryson DeChambeau, Phil Mickelson, Brooks Koepka, and Dustin Johnson from the PGA. LIV Golf's spending is expected to exceed US$6 billion by the end of the year.

Despite a decline in the number of top football players joining the Saudi Professional League (SPL) after previous aggressive recruitment efforts, PIF reaffirmed its ongoing commitment to the world's most popular sport.

"PIF continues to expand its global footprint in the field of sports, with football at the core of this growth," said PIF's Head of Corporate Branding, Mohamed Al Sayyad.