As rapidly as LIV Golf came onto the scene, it seems its finances might have gone just as quickly. The golf world swarmed with rumours that the PIF, the Saudi Arabian government’s investment fund, was suspending its funding in the challenger golf tour, having pumped billions into it as a direct challenge to the established PGA Tour and DP World Tour.
Paying astronomical amounts of money to lure in top stars such as Bryson DeChambeau and Jon Rahm, alongside backing huge prize pots for events, LIV Golf was going to be the vehicle to promote Saudi Arabia as a major sporting power. Given the rumours, it seems that a change in strategy is afoot.
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While the expectation was that LIV Golf would be a loss leader initially, the Kingdom evidently felt comfortable with this and enticed stars with massive payouts – Rahm signed on for a massive $200 million following his last Major victory at the Masters – but it seems that the PIF are no longer willing to bank roll a tour which lost in excess of $500 million in 2025.
Without a major broadcast deal, which in turn hinders the ability of LIV Golf to charge significant sums for sponsorship agreements, the PIF was the only way the tour had to finance itself.
While no express statement has been made, the PIF laid out its strategy in April for its investment plans over the next five years; the fact that sport was omitted from the plans is notable and sent the rumor mill into overdrive regarding LIV Golf, but this won’t be the only casualty should the PIF pivot away from sports.
Many analysts would not be surprised by this pivot. The overseas proportion of PIF’s investments hit a high of 30% in 2020 but has been slowly reducing in subsequent years. Company filings at the end of 2022 showed investments in countries beyond Saudi Arabia and neighboring allies totaled 23% of PIF’s portfolio, and in 2024, that had dropped to 19%.
Meanwhile, the sporting divestment for the organization has already begun, with 70% of Al-Hilal, one of the four Saudi clubs directly owned by the PIF, sold to the Kingdom Investment Fund run by Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal.
While the investment in Al-Hilal remains in the country, the fact that the PIF has divested its interest in one of the biggest domestic soccer clubs should be seen as a sign of where its focus is. It should be noted that Saudi Arabia has pivoted previously, with the ATP and WTA World Tour Finals due to take place in 2026 likely to be the last editions played in the Kingdom for some time.
However, when the finals were moved to Saudi Arabia, this was seen as a key part of the growth strategy and an opportunity to move away from the economic dependency on oil and energy.
This will also be a troubling development for supporters of Newcastle United, who saw the PIF takeover as their way of crashing the top table of European soccer, effectively making them the richest club in the world and able to compete with the likes of Manchester City and PSG.
However, with the English Premier League tightening rules around investment from ownership, the PIF has not been able to influence Newcastle’s finances in the same way as Abu Dhabi was able to do at Manchester City. As a result, the question is whether the PIF and Saudi Arabia still see Newcastle as a viable means of developing their international image. If not, will this see Newcastle sold off from the portfolio?
With the 2034 World Cup en-route to Saudi Arabia, the likelihood is that the Kingdom will still be have a significant influence on the sporting world over the next decade, but with its finances impacted by the recent geopolitical instability in the Middle East following the conflict in Iran, the Kingdom must ensure that it is ready to host the biggest soccer competition on Earth.
With 11 new stadiums set to be built and a mass of new infrastructure to be delivered to welcome visitors from around the world, it is perhaps unsurprising that Saudi Arabia no longer feels the need to throw money at a collection of aging sports stars who have not really delivered in terms of changing the reputation of the Kingdom.
All hope for this image lies in the World Cup and F1, with a purpose-built track being built in the Kingdom. While this year’s F1 race was cancelled, the future is still very much focused on delivering high-quality sporting events in the years ahead, making Saudi Arabia a key destination for sports fans.
By visiting Saudi Arabia, will the perception of the country change, given that paying golfers extravagant amounts of money didn’t have the desired effect?
