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The Saudi Arabia delegation at the Tokyo 2020 opening ceremony Alamy

Saudi Arabia's 'ultimate goal' is to host Olympics, says sports minister

Prince Abdulaziz bin Turki Al-Faisal dismissed suggestions of sportswashing by the Gulf nation.

SAUDI ARABIA SEES hosting an Olympics as its “ultimate goal” in a growing sports portfolio, its sports minister has said, while rejecting criticism of the kingdom over its rights record.

Investing in sport is part of a multi-pronged strategy approved six years ago to diversify the oil-reliant economy, under de facto ruler Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, 36.

Sports Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Turki Al-Faisal spoke to AFP in the Red Sea city of Jeddah ahead of the heavyweight boxing clash in which Ukraine’s Oleksandr Usyk beat Anthony Joshua of Britain in the early hours of the morning.

In 2034, the capital Riyadh will host the Asian Games, a large-scale multi-sports event that Prince Abdulaziz said could foreshadow a bid for the Summer Olympics.

“Our main focus now is the 2034 [Asian Games],” which will take place two years after Brisbane, Australia hosts the 2032 Summer Games, he said.

“We’re open to discuss with the IOC about this (Olympics) for the future. I think Saudi Arabia has showcased that we can host such events”.

He added: “Definitely, the Olympics would be an ultimate goal for us … But we’re open to that and I think we can.”

The Usyk-Joshua fight came a day after the United Nations rights office said it was “appalled” by the 34-year prison sentence a Saudi court issued to Salma al-Shehab, a doctoral student in Britain.

She had been found guilty of aiding dissidents seeking to “disrupt public order” in the kingdom by relaying their tweets.

Golf backlash
Saudi Arabia has drawn major criticism over the 2018 murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi and for cracking down on rights activists, many of whom have been jailed or banned from travel.

Saudi sports events are routinely accused of being used as a distraction from human rights violations, a practice dubbed “sportswashing”.

Prince Abdulaziz argued the criticism is off the mark and pointed to signs of change in the country.

“We’re progressing, we’re moving towards a better society, we’re moving towards a better quality of life, a better country, for the future,” he said.

“And the facts show that hosting these events benefit our people and benefit these changes that are happening and benefits living in Saudi.”

A 2019 fight featuring Joshua, who reclaimed his world heavyweight crown from Andy Ruiz, marked the first time a world heavyweight title fight had been staged in Saudi Arabia.

Last year the kingdom joined the F1 circuit, and the state Public Investment Fund is bankrolling LIV Golf, which has lured a swathe of top players with hefty signing bonuses and $25-million purses, creating a schism in the sport.

In response to LIV, the US PGA Tour has imposed indefinite bans on players who defect and raised the purses of several events, and this week Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy led a meeting of PGA Tour players on combating the new competition.

Prince Abdulaziz said he wasn’t expecting the LIV furore.

“Not really, honestly,” he said. “I think that if there’s a benefit for the sport, then why not, whoever does it.

“If it benefits the athletes, if it benefits the sport, attracts more attention to the sport, attracts more people that want to participate in the sport, that will grow the sport for everyone.”

Saudi Arabia is also bidding to host the 2027 Asian Cup and the women’s version in 2026, along with the 2029 Winter Asian Games at NEOM, a futuristic megacity project on the Red Sea.

© AFP 2022

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    Mute great gael of Eire
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    Jun 16th 2020, 2:58 PM

    Why not get the ECB to print the money and give it to the Irish Govt to kick start the economy. Create new projects all over the country and the money should filter down to everyone in the economy. The reason the ECB tries not to print money is to prevent inflation. That’s the only reason. But we are in a crisis and we need money to get the economy going again. Central banks can do what ever they want

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    Mute David Corrigan
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    Jun 16th 2020, 2:38 PM

    A lot will depend on how well (if at all) the tourist industry bounces back when restrictions are fully lifted.
    I think a lot of other sectors will be ok as they were performing well before the crisis hit.

    33
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    Mute Martin Peter Rahill
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    Jun 16th 2020, 4:07 PM

    Clamping down on Tax Evasion rather than just increasing tax would be a fine chance. Nixers & other undeclared additional income cheat everyone. The “Welfare Cheats cheat us all” is a classist argument that cost a fortune to roll out – and gathered less money in enforcement actions than it cost.

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    Mute Michael Wall
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    Jun 16th 2020, 5:22 PM

    The ECB have already agreed to underwrite everything at 0%, no need for a recession. We can push money into the economy, build needed infrastructure all we need is a government and an Irish central bank with vision.

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    Mute Peter Hughes
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    Jun 16th 2020, 3:19 PM

    Sure we can blame the greens for it because somehow they buried us in corrupt debt for the last 20 years….knowing the moronic Irish voter down they will somehow come to this conclusion lol.

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    Mute Sean
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    Jun 16th 2020, 3:29 PM

    @Peter Hughes: well the green party last time they were in power introduced a regressive carbon tax which does nothing but punish people who have no choice to drive due to lack of rural public transport, can’t see them doing much better this time round

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    Mute Peter Hughes
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    Jun 16th 2020, 4:10 PM

    @Sean: Lol nothing to do with FFG and their stellar governance….we deserve them let’s face it.

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    Mute Mickomacko
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    Jun 17th 2020, 1:11 AM

    That building, it looks like there is still scaffolding around it

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    Mute Mickomacko
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    Jun 17th 2020, 1:11 AM

    That building, it looks like there is still scaffolding around it

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