Surj reiterates sports commitments following PIF’s partial retreat Sport Business Surj Sports Investment has reiterated its commitment to its stakes in ATP tennis, T100 triathlon and broadcaster Dazn in the wake of cuts to some Saudi-backed events. LIV Golf has been rocked by the withdrawal of further financial support from the Public Investment Fund, while Saudi Arabia has also axed snooker and flag football competitions. [...]
LIV Golf’s decline leaves sport with more questions than answers Sport Business LIV Golf. What was that all about? Ok, the past tense might be a bit harsh. But could anyone have the appetite and depth of pockets to rescue a venture that has burned through $5bn from the ignominy of collapse? Where too does this embarrassing failure leave Saudi Arabia and its sporting ambitions? Time has [...]
Is Mercedes-Benz’s $500m WTA Tour partnership value for money? Sport Business With the deal between Mercedes-Benz and the WTA Tour well underway, Matt Hardy heads to Madrid to see if its value for money. The supermarket meal deal, the cost of an upgrade to business class, the Category A versus Category B match ticket; value for money is one of capitalism’s greatest dilemmas. It is a [...]
LIV Golf to seek investment as Saudi Arabia PIF to cut funding April 30, 2026 LIV Golf is set to announce it is seeking new investment amid reports that Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund is to cut off its funding. PIF has ploughed more than $5bn into LIV Golf since launching it as a challenger to the PGA Tour in 2022 and poaching top players including Bryson DeChambeau and Jon [...]
Barry Hearn says ‘Saudi is a problem’ amid snooker shift April 21, 2026 Snooker supremo Barry Hearn has admitted that “Saudi is a problem” amid reports of plans to move a lucrative event to fellow Gulf region Qatar. Saudi Arabia could be about to scale back its sporting empire due to conflict issues in the region, with LIV Golf’s long-term funding uncertain and other events potentially under review. [...]
What next for LIV Golf and Newcastle United after Saudi PIF strategy shift? April 18, 2026 With Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund updating its strategy, what next for the PIF-owned Newcastle United and LIV Golf? Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund last week published the latest iteration of its Vision strategy, which will cover the remainder of the decade. The strategy’s publication had been expected for some time. When the last planning [...]
LIV Golf under ‘pressure’ but is ‘the future of the game’, says CEO O’Neil April 16, 2026 LIV Golf CEO Scott O’Neil says the breakaway tour is facing a “moment of pressure” but has dismissed suggestions that it is on the verge of collapse. Reports this week stated that Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund could withdraw its funding of LIV Golf, having spent more than $5bn on bankrolling the signing of stars [...]
London Lions CEO: We’d love to be in NBA Europe but we have a reason to exist anyway April 15, 2026 London Lions CEO Lenz Balan on the club’s NBA Europe ambitions and the challenges of making British basketball financially sustainable. “I’m, like, an irrational optimist,” says London Lions CEO Lenz Balan as he explains why he views the impending arrival of an NBA Europe team on his patch as an opportunity, not a threat. The [...]
NBA Europe: Bids top $1bn as London team proves hottest property – sources April 1, 2026 The NBA and its advisors have received several bids in excess of $1bn for teams in its proposed European league, according to sources close to the process. The US basketball league and its advisors, JP Morgan and the Raine Group, have begun sifting through non-binding offers for the 12 permanent franchises in the new competition [...]
Momentum 25 and the reality of Saudi Arabia’s mega-projects December 11, 2025 The ‘Momentum 25’ conference is taking place in Riyadh this week, at a definitive juncture for the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The midpoint of the Vision 2030 timeline, launched in 2016 by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, to diversify the nation’s economy away from hydrocarbon dependence. For nearly a decade, the global business community has [...]