Middle East

Thmanyah, a Saudi Arabian channel with no major track record in sports broadcasting, has completed a shock acquisition of exclusive media rights to the Saudi Pro League.

There will be a new domestic broadcaster for the Saudi Pro League from the new season, with three bidders shortlisted and final talks to take place over the coming days, SportBusiness can reveal.

Saudi sovereign wealth fund PIF has become the latest organisation to sign as an official partner of the Fifa Club World Cup, which kicks off in the US, June 14

Qatar Airways has announced an eleventh-hour deal to sponsor the Fifa Club World Cup, expanding on its relationship as a top-tier Fifa Partner.

M&C Saatchi Sport and Entertainment has agreed a deal to acquire Middle East-based sports and entertainment agency Dune 23.

Newly crowned Saudi Pro League champion Al-Ittihad has signed up South Korean trye company Hankook as a major sponsor for the rest of this season through 2026-27.

Saudi Arabia’s ministry of sports has opened the door for private companies to invest in its sports facilities, including one of the stadiums to be used for the 2034 Fifa World Cup.

The Aramco Team Series on golf’s Ladies European Tour has been rebadged as the ‘PIF Global Series’ in a renewed commitment from Golf Saudi and the Kingdom’s sovereign wealth fund.

The 2026 Fifa World Cup in North America coupled with a “bet” on the US market coming to fruition will help Footballco exceed $100m (€87m/£75m) in revenues next year, according to chief executive Juan D…

Against a backdrop of potentially widespread change in the European basketball landscape, Israeli pay-television broadcaster the Sports Channel has renewed its EuroLeague rights until 2030-31 in a deal with the IMG agency.

Turki Alalshikh has transformed boxing with unprecedented levels of investment. But there are signs that Saudi Arabia's billion-dollar matchmaker might want to slow his spending.

The Professional Fighters League (PFL) has appointed Middle East-based sport and entertainment agency Dune | 23 to build, manage and activate sponsorship relationships in the region.

Infront is closing down its digital and technology division after opting to sell products housed by Infront Lab to WSC Sports, the AI-powered video content company

Aldar, the Abu Dhabi-based real estate development firm, has joined the likes of BMW, Emirates and Rolex by becoming a top-tier Official Marketing Partner (OMP) of golf’s DP World Tour.

Last week brought confirmation that the second edition of the Esports World Cup will inject over $90m into the competitive gaming ecosystem across prize money and stimulus funds, underlining the industry’s growing reliance on Saudi Arabian investment.

AEG Global Partnerships, a division of the live sports and entertainment company, has appointed Fadi Zouein to the newly created role of vice-president for the Middle East