Sports investment between Saudi Arabia and Spain

Presenter: The Madrid Sports Summit, held at Madrid’s exhibition venue (IFEMA), is an international event bringing together professionals, companies, institutions and young talent around sport as a driver of innovation, economic development and social change. The Madrid Sports Summit, an initiative of “Mad Cup”, was launched with a clear vision: to change the prevailing view of sport as merely entertainment or physical activity and promote sports investment as a global economic industry capable of creating jobs, generating financial returns and improving social wellbeing. The summit brought together more than 8,600 participants and featured more than 300 brands.

Mr Ibrahim Al-Bakri, Chief Executive Officer of the Saudi Sports Investment Forum, and Dr Fadi Salfeti, President of SPD Sports Professional Development Academy and President of Sada Spain in Arabic, attended the Madrid Sports Summit. On this occasion, we had the opportunity to interview them. “First, we welcome you, Mr Ibrahim Al-Bakri… and we also welcome Dr Fadi Salfeti… Welcome to the Arabic Service of Radio Exterior de España.”

Question: The Sports Investment Forum is a platform that invests in the sports sector in cooperation with the private and public sectors in Saudi Arabia. What prospects for cooperation and investment are you seeking abroad? And what are you looking for in Spain through your visit to IFEMA?

Mr Ibrahim Al-Bakri: The idea behind the forum was to create a platform to attract sports investment to the Middle East, particularly to the Kingdom, where opportunities and growth in this sector are increasing. We wanted a platform that would bring public- and private-sector leaders together in one place, acting as a link to identify opportunities and encourage investors.

The forum has now held two editions, both highly successful, with attendance exceeding approximately 5,000 to 6,000 at each edition, a large number of deals and visitors from more than 22 countries. In the latest edition, we made a point of establishing an investment fund exceeding 800 million to finance opportunities of this kind. The forum does not stop at the three days allocated to it each year; it goes beyond borders through the SIF Global Tour. The first stop in its second edition was Spain, with the Madrid Sports Summit and cooperation that will be announced later.

Question: Supporting women is among the forum’s objectives. Tell us more about this goal.

Mr Ibrahim Al-Bakri: At each edition, we make sure that one day is dedicated to a type of investment showing sustained growth. In the first edition it was sports media, and in the second it was women’s sport. Women’s sport in the Kingdom is growing strongly in participation, leadership and investment. We had a great experience in partnership with Princess Nourah University: a full day of sessions and workshops was dedicated to this field, resulting in a number of projects and initiatives that serve women’s sport and align with the Kingdom’s Vision.

Question: Are you also looking to develop smart stadiums using artificial intelligence technologies?

Mr Ibrahim Al-Bakri: Sport today is involved in every area of life, whether health, quality of life, education or artificial intelligence. AI is a fundamental pillar of sports investment. A full session was devoted to it, led by HUMAIN, one of the major companies in the Kingdom and worldwide. We are seeking to direct a number of investments towards this field: some have come to fruition, some have received investments in which the forum played a role, and others are still in preparation.

Question: What opportunities are available for Spanish investors and institutions to take part in this sports investment? And how does it contribute to Vision 2030?

Mr Ibrahim Al-Bakri: The Middle East, and the Kingdom in particular, offers enormous growth opportunities. The forum does not focus on a single sport but on a range of sports. The market is not heavily crowded and demand is very high: fertile ground for investment, supported by hosting international events that generate investment income and encourage investors, alongside a variety of investment funds and Saudi investors’ desire for partnership, growth and challenge.

The Vision’s objectives are clear, and sport is an essential part of them: improving quality of life, the workforce, health and infrastructure. Sport is a major economic driver, a market that attracts international interest, a bridge for relationships and a leading force in marketing and shaping perceptions of societies. My message to Spanish investors is this: it is a new market, but its growth is substantial and rapid, especially with the upcoming World Cup in the Kingdom.

Question: How important is this kind of sports investment exchange linking Saudi Arabia and Spain? And how can the growing interest be turned into training and executive programmes serving Gulf federations, clubs and authorities?

Fadi Salfeti: Sport in the region has moved from being merely a competitive activity to becoming an integrated economic, institutional and investment sector. Spain, meanwhile, has advanced sporting experience in club management, tournament organisation, sports law, academies and talent development. This is what makes Saudi–Spanish rapprochement important: it opens the door to practical, not merely theoretical, cooperation, leading to the design of executive programmes, training partnerships, professional visits and development projects serving federations, clubs and sports authorities.

The distinction between transferring expertise and studying actual needs is important, because Spanish culture differs from Arab culture. Our role is to identify precisely the needs within Arab countries and then build programmes that respond to them, transferring the Spanish experience through a process of “localisation” suited to Arab societies.

Question: What role can SPD Academy play in supporting sports investment and development, rather than investment alone?

Fadi Salfeti: SPD Academy was created to be a bridge, not merely an organisation offering ordinary training courses. We start from the institutional needs of the Arab world or the Gulf, then seek the appropriate Spanish model or academic partner and turn that into a clear programme with objectives, duration, content, visits, experts and outcomes. What distinguishes our role is our understanding of both contexts: Spain’s sporting momentum and Saudi Arabia’s progress towards Vision 2030.

There is another, less-discussed objective: preparing young people and guiding them towards sport as part of long-term investment — as players, as a leisure activity and for health — and away from activities that waste time and harm communities. Sport is an effective tool for developing societies in every respect. This is where our role comes in: connecting experienced Spanish institutions with Saudi institutions.

Question: How can Sada Spain in Arabic and the media in Spain highlight this cooperation? And is Madrid a meeting point between investors from Saudi Arabia and the Gulf and Spanish sports institutions?

Fadi Salfeti: With all due respect, the Spanish do not do enough media marketing towards Arab countries, perhaps because the Spanish language has a stronger presence in Latin America. Sada Spain in Arabic is a media, cultural and social organisation seeking to bridge the two worlds and give both sides a voice. We have a dedicated sports section that covers not only player transfers and matches but also news about investment and institutional sports development in the Arab and Spanish worlds, such as coverage of the Madrid Summit and the Sports Investment Forum in Riyadh.

Madrid has all the elements that make it a suitable meeting place. It is a sporting capital in general, with an important European location, sports infrastructure, strong institutions, universities, institutes and clubs, and a business environment capable of welcoming delegations and partnerships. It is a global meeting point for any country or organisation wishing to enter the world of international sport.

Question: Is there anything else you would like to add?

Mr Ibrahim Al-Bakri: I emphasise the importance of sports investment as a key step in nation-building, an objective to which both the private and public sectors should pay attention. Today we are seeing tremendous momentum around the World Cup — in media, the economy and infrastructure. “If a country wants to grow rapidly, it should host the World Cup.” Sport today is about relationships between peoples, health and investment as well.

The Kingdom now has more than 97 sports federations, a very large number reflecting diversity that grows day by day. We are seeing global events, such as Formula racing and others, deals and marketing whose economic and media impact has benefited the Kingdom. This demonstrates that when a country invests in something and succeeds, it encourages the private sector to invest in it too.

Presenter (closing): “As we conclude this interview, thank you very much, Mr Ibrahim Al-Bakri… and thank you, Dr Fadi Salfeti… Thank you for joining us, for your time, and we wish you every success.”