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The Art of Sport
Arthur Choga
SAUDI ARABIA have been recently hogging the headlines with their recruitment of high-profile football players into their domestic league.
Before entertaining platitudes on the futility of trying to buy success, it is worth remembering that Saudi Arabia already have a good footballing pedigree.
They have qualified for six FIFA World Cup tournaments — in 1994, 1998, 2002, 2006, 2018 and 2022.
Their best performance was in 1994, when they reached the round of 16.
And their standout result was in last year’s edition in Qatar, where they beat eventual champions Argentina in the group stages.
What they are simply doing is building a bigger profile beyond the World Cup, and they have identified sport as a viable way to achieve this.
A year ago, Saudi Arabia launched the LIV Golf Invitational Series.
There was a lot of noise about it.
The global golf governing body — the Professional Golfers Association (PGA) — threatened to ban any player who took part in the LIV events.
However, a few weeks ago, PGA and LIV announced plans to create one golfing body.
In the end, players are likely to benefit from this.
There have been similar noises about the Saudi football league’s determined push to secure global football talent.
Cristiano Ronaldo, Karim Benzema, N’Golo Kante, Ever Banega and Ryad Boudebouz have all signed contracts to play in the Middle East, while top-level managers like Nuno Espirito Santo, Pitso Mosimane, Dejan Stankovic, Giorgos Donis, Marius Sumudica and Cosmin Contra are now plying their trade in the Saudi Pro League.
Former Warriors captain Knowledge Musona, who recently joined a newly promoted side Al Riyadh SC, has been playing in the same league since 2021.
Saudi Arabia’s masterplan is not entirely new. When the United States won the right to host the 1994 World Cup, one of the conditions was that they would have to develop a competitive national league.
Before this, football — or soccer, as the Americans call it — was mainly played in colleges and schools, hence the title “soccer moms” for parents who would drive their children to games in minivans.
It was not a major arena sport.
The US later established Major League Soccer, and, in the time-honoured American way, they tried to market it the best way they knew how.
Naturally, they looked for recognisable names. In later years, football’s glamour boy, David Beckham, would join the appropriately named Los Angeles Galaxy.
Champions League winners such as Wayne Rooney would also find themselves in the US in the twilight of their careers, as did Didier Drogba, Chicharito Hernandez, Thierry Henry, Robbie Keane, Jermanie Defoe, Kaka, David Villa, Zlatan Ibrahimovich and Andrea Pirlo.
They added to the game’s allure and helped grow young US players into global stars, who are now playing in leagues across the world.
According to the Atlantic Council, an international publication, Saudi Arabia believe sport will play a key role in diversifying their economy from hydrocarbons.
“The sports sector is one of the vital pillars of Saudi Vision 2030 and the Ministry of Sport’s dedication is tangible in Saudi Arabia, where one can witness the enhanced facilities and increased citizen participation in sports. This change did not occur overnight, and it is partly the result of the widespread public support for sports and entertainment and a desire to compete at the international level,” it wrote.
Overall, this is part of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s Vision 2030, which is premised on increasing community engagement in sports by 40 percent by 2030, improving Saudi elite athletes’ performances abroad and boosting the sports economy.
In 2020, the sports sector is estimated to have created 14 000 jobs.
Moreover, jobs at sports clubs have increased in three years by 129 percent due to new sports offerings.
Between 2018 and 2021, administrative jobs increased by 156 percent, while career opportunities rose by more than 114 percent.
Zimbabwe can learn from this.
Clarity around investment in sport and benefits that local corporates can enjoy by putting money in sport can drive the sector forward.
Currently, local athletes, particularly footballers, are moving to Zambia and Tanzania.
But potential for the local sports sector cannot be underestimated.
Cricket presents a healthy example of what can be achieved by making venues hospitable and exciting, while creating an enabling environment for partners and sponsors.
While Zimbabwe may not have the fabled riches of Saudi Arabia, it certainly has the talent and brains to develop sport beyond where it is today.
A thorough process of identifying the best sporting minds and enabling them to develop a sporting excellence masterplan that includes infrastructure, skills development and management will change the way Zimbabwe sport is seen.
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