Why Saudi Arabia Pours Billions Into Sport Stars (And It Makes Sense)

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Sometimes as economists we need to analyse complex decisions to understand what the outcomes might be. On the more baffling end of the scale we have Saudi Arabia spending billions on football, golf and Formula 1 stars who are mostly a little past their prime to come and play in the largely unknown Saudi leagues. Is this simply sports-washing (a PR stunt) or is there something more clever going on?
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[@EconomicsExplained]

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[@Bhatti_69]

Why did you keep this video private for so long?

[@heidirabenau511]

*pin exist*

[@ersindemirkan2719]

​@@Bhatti_698

[@bhsultan7806]

I’m curious why didn’t you mention Saudi Arabia’s Golf takeover? Or is that not really a sport your into 😉

[@Obscurai]

Saudi man sentenced to death for tweets tarnishes and negates anything the Saudi Arabian government does to improves their international image.

[@ekmalsukarno2302]

Economics Explained, can you please make a video on the Sultan of Brunei, his oil wealth and how his economic policies impact Brunei's economy and the Bruneian citizenry. Thank you very much.

[@alpharomeo7575]

Yeah bro I recently saw two different figures, people of Brunei are poor but they are in top ten gdp ppp per capita

[@Ace-ng2pl]

Ong we need that

[@akmalfirdaus1953]

We have similar names. Are you an Indonesian or Malay? I am Malay live in western side of Borneo. I've never heard a Malay named Sukarno before.

[@ezrathegreatconqueror]

@@akmalfirdaus1953Malay =/= Malaysian. There are Malaysian Malays and there are Indonesian Malays. Therefore are you Malaysian Malay? hence Western side of Borneo u refer to Sarawak?

[@akmalfirdaus1953]

@@ezrathegreatconqueror nope. Southwest, Indonesia side.

[@JoelReid]

Just a clarifier: Australia and New Zealand broke even in 2023 with the Women's world cup, and was applauded for being the first to do so. Considering this was over a very large area covering over 5000km in distance between Perth and Wellington, This is very impressive. So these are not always losses, at least not as of releasing this video.

[@rogink]

Good for them. But they didn't build any new stadiums, or new infrastructure, did they?

[@drgeorgek]

I guess the point being made is that these events are not the big money spinners that they’re made out to be … so to be applauded for jumping over the low hurdle of breaking even makes me question when politicians state so confidently that it will be a huge money spinner

[@abdulrahmanissa4454]

It really showed that you do not follow any of these sports. You mentioned "that it doesn't really matter" but I think it does. Creating a competitive league in football which attracts viewerships from around the world is one of the hardest things to do, it doesn't just come from throwing money at the best players in the world but by allowing fans to have an emotional connection to the club they support. Emirati backed Manchester City, who have been the most successful club in England for the last 13 years are often ridiculed for their lack of supporters despite being the richest and most successful club in England. English clubs have gradually been waiting for over 140 years to get where it has, Saudi cannot do so in a few years. It's for that reason that this investment will most likely fail.

[@moej93]

But the point is been missed it's never been the goal to attract international fans but the Saudi fans and to a degree the arab fans that already watch the saudi league are the targeted demographic. I certainly started watching the saudi league again and actually paid for subscription for it i haven't watched in more than 10 years used to just check the scores

[@moej93]

But the point is been missed it's never been the goal to attract international fans but the Saudi fans and to a degree the arab fans that already watch the saudi league are the targeted demographic. I certainly started watching the saudi league again and actually paid for subscription for it i haven't watched in more than 10 years used to just check the scores

[@dlewis8405]

I had no idea that France has such a robust sovereign wealth fund. I sort of assumed the state finances were precarious since France always seems like a country that was wealthy in the past but not the present.

[@ArawnOfAnnwn]

It's over 200 years old, but it's not a sovereign wealth fund as you typically think of one. It was basically started as a pension fund.

[@joshuabanner3675]

Opposite actually. They used to be significantly poorer than Northern Europeans and are now about the same.

[@UnKnowmanNumber2]

That's what you get when you keep your previous colonies in a financial chokehold and steal whatever resources they have

[@blartversenwaldiii]

It's an illusion, France is on roughly the same level as the UK and Germany.

[@Pezzerd]

Norway has 1/15th the people of France. They should really do per capita as that is what it is for.

[@missema8062]

It is clear how Saudi Arabia has changed its policy and shifts to investing in many sectors, including sport. The results may take time, but eventually, there will be drastic changes.

[@hogoselva1139]

Why do you say Saudi Arabia doesn’t have a history in sport?!! We and Japan and South Korea dominated Asian football for decades every single person in Saudi Arabia watch football, local leagues and European leagues also and football is our only sport. We don’t have another sport everybody crazy about football here.

[@xrete]

clearly he doesnt follow

[@2livenoob]

He said he doesn't follow sports just the economics of the sports. 4:01 And you misunderstood, if SA had a history in sport, then they wouldn't be paying billions to bring athletes to their country, the athletes would already be there.

[@keymot1491]

He’s Australian pardon his barbarism please

[@Mark-vn7et]

Can you make a video of the actual probability that the gulf states have being distanced from oil? It seems highly unlikely to me they can keep up with what they are doing with other industries once the oil revenue dries up

[@RandomRabbit007]

As their previous generation said, “our fathers rode camels, we ride in G-wagons, our children’s children will again ride on camels.” Having been to Dubai and Abu Dabhi, I dont see any reason to return. Such a superficial, soulless, tasteless place. All hype. An insane number of empty skyscrapers and empty downtown-hubs (DURING New Years) which is the only bearable time to even visit because ITS A DESERT!!!). The EV revolution cant come soon enough

[@Faisal-ep3fe]

@@RandomRabbit007 As a Saudi, I've never heard that line in my life except from westerners online who think they are smart

[@Mikeym426]

@@Faisal-ep3fe The quote is from former UAE prime minister Rashid bin Saeed Al Maktoum so it definitely has some weight to it

[@ronald3836]

@@Faisal-ep3fe better start taking camel riding lessons ;-)

[@ronald3836]

@saeidbinhossain8530 We live in interesting times! :)

[@JYFrimpong]

It’s untrue. The World Cup did not tarnish Qatar’s image - if for anything at all, it made them more popular. 0:59

[@MS-np2nf]

Western channel being biased? im shocked!

[@JYFrimpong]

@@MS-np2nf definitely.

[@pantlesJon]

It might be a good idea to make a side video on Saudi Arabia's contribution to e-sports as well. They have spent billions of dollars in that market as well. They even built an entire city dedicated to it.

[@donbridge9936]

Also in Golf. They are trying to be the super power of the world

[@keymot1491]

@@donbridge9936if an institution controls, entertainment and tech it basically controls society The Government of Saudi Arabia is soon to be this institution

[@Doai55]

*getting ready for after oil era @@donbridge9936

[@user-dh1kp1uy1n]

Saudi Arabia has no history in sports??!!!! Saudi clubs are the most established in the Asian champions league and have won the most Asian champions leagues, even more than the Japanese clubs. additionally, Saudi Arabia have won the AFC Asian Cup three times. Furthermore, the Saudi people are very enthusiastic about football and support their league and the traditions of the clubs is there looong before all the money showed up. Its just that these FACTS does not work with the narrative that everyone wants to talk about,

[@ecnalms851]

But no one watches the AFC Asian Cup, football is mostly centred around European leagues and competitions. It's Europe and South America that mostly produce the good players which then become popular. I myself know no popular Arab footballers except for Salah and also no specific Saudi Arabian players of note.

[@user-dh1kp1uy1n]

@@ecnalms851 There is some truth in what you wrote, but to say that Saudi has no history in sports is so ridiculous so its an obvious give away that this channel did not research the topic seriously at all, they just made a rushed clickbait type video to make money from the viewers.

[@agyarhardjasudjana7804]

Saudi Arabia NT and clubs is a powerhouse in Asian football for +2 decades. They have multiple appearances in FIFA WC with much more history and merit in the sports than China and Qatar. The country is big enough to sustain a league and football has been the country's most favourite sports. Tbh, it's kinda mind boggling it takes them this long. If there is some mad government (outside Europe) willing to throw money to the sports to accelerate football it's them. That being said, ideally countries like the US and Japan should be the other football powerhouse outside Europe, But they hav their own priorities...

[@MartinNew14]

Saudi Arabia aims to diversify its economy, but faces challenges due to issues related to confidence and its religious governance. Additionally, it is making efforts to enter the world of sports by recruiting foreign athletes to enhance its image, but success might be hindered by its confidence-related obstacles

[@josephbenjamin2934]

That’s what the video said mate 😂

[@blizz673]

To become developed you need free and rational thinking but leaders of these countries fear that.

[@hariskhan01]

@@blizz673 ironically Israel is moving towards right and allying with Saudi Arab.

[@HenkGootjes66]

Is this a GPT response lol?

[@rippleyo]

@@HenkGootjes66 The provided text seems to be the result of an AI language model, such as ChatGPT, given its tone, content, and structure. It touches upon Saudi Arabia's endeavors to diversify its economy, the associated hurdles linked to confidence and religious governance, and the strategy of enlisting foreign athletes to enhance its global reputation. Its composition and thematic elements are in alignment with what one would expect from responses generated by ChatGPT or similar AI models.

[@EverettBurger]

It's not just athletes "past their prime". Usyk, Fury, Ngannou, etc. are in their primes.

[@bennyk144]

I think the point is they aren't looking for up and coming talent. The trend is for hiring mid career and later athletes with an established brand

[@greentoby26]

Who?

[@orthodox-mp6hv]

"I have very little insights who the best football or stickball or zoomie man is." Lol! That was a good line.

[@haydencrawford8552]

It's just the "bread and circuses" style of economics. Distract the masses with games, events, and generous public spending to hide the fact that the country is silently crumbling.

[@Mike-fx4nu]

The masses distract themselves.

[@madhatter113]

How is KSA crumbling? And how does a crumbling state manage to spend billions on football? They're spending this kind of money just to turn eyes on their state. Since MBS took charge, he's been trying to change the how the world view KSA, this just a way in doing so and an attempt to host the WC in 2030

[@Mike-fx4nu]

@@madhatter113 "How is KSA crumbling" Decadent Gilded Age expenditures based on oil production of a finite nature "How does a crumbing state manage to spend billions on football" Billions aren't much for a State + frivolity "Just to turn eyes on their state" Very few people care.

[@alexpotts6520]

Huh, I would say the country has the completely opposite problem - it has a ton of resources but very little in the way of "generous social spending". This is a place where the rulers are so dominant and all-engulfing that the country is literally named after them.

[@user-dh1kp1uy1n]

This is the most reasonable explanation, due to how popular football is in Saudi, not sportswashing or whatever. Best comment here.

[@GreyWasteTim]

A country that bans alcohol and alcohol sales probably not gonna do well with sports fans.

[@Sahanawaj_]

The French law bans the sale of alcohol in stadiums to the general public but will people say the same things to France no. Countries banning alcohol because it's not only bad for people for health but also for public safety, Qatar world cup is a living example of this.

[@realShikha885]

Waste of time to teach them, those who don't consume Whisky or vodka can never understand the pleasure of drinking it, its a feel that you are in heaven, but those who don't drink it think that by not drinking it they will land in heaven 😂😂 with 72 virgins

[@Sahanawaj_]

@@realShikha885 alcoholic can't understand bad effect of alcohol nor they can discuss in civilised way. The best they can do is bark like you in the comment section.

[@somethinglikethat2176]

​@@Sahanawaj_ it's possible to enjoy something without having it rule your life.

[@Whatnow659]

@@realShikha885 worship your cows before I have a mean steak

[@PBellAU]

The Saudi league will never hit the viewing numbers of the major European leagues. Most football fans support teams not players. Saudi should stick to what it knows best, energy. Saudi is blessed with abundant sunshine, and due its average high elevation also has a lot of wind energy potential. They should be using the revenue made from oil to build clean energy megaprojects that it can export to its neighbours in the future. It also has a huge coastline right at the entrance to the Suez canal, perfect for shipping and manufacturing.

[@EnzosBenzo]

If the Saudi’s own the teams then they own the streaming rights to broadcast those teams’ games. Perhaps in a less physically globalized world streaming would allow people to watch their favorite players from the comfort of their own, western home. Plus it puts pressure on the already existing leads to propose a merge e.g. liv golf

[@mashi9693]

Broadcasting gains went from 40M from 27 countries to 390M from 115 countries

[@syeedchowdhury2501]

Wrong.. those who ve been there in Qatar and we're a part of the world cup gave too many positive reviews to consider their reputation tarnished

[@dwarasamudra8889]

I've always wanted to know what would happen to countries like Saudi Arabia when over the next few decades, countries will be transitioning away from fossil fuels? UAE has a much more diversified economy but Saudi doesn't seem as diverse.

[@gavasiarobinssson5108]

They will not transition. It is not possible.

[@blizz673]

Non of GCC Country is Diversified, if they were Diversified they would have producing Nobel laureate, Scientist and philosophers

[@hariskhan01]

@@blizz673 It's increasing quickly in UAE, soon it'll have vibrant industry, currently in Canada, salaries are better but UAE is ranked "high" by UN itself by tech readiness and Canada having Housing crisis so with low taxes it's expected that people will go there for these activities more.

[@wise5674]

I think only Europe will transition away from fossil fuels and they will become largely irrelevant. The rest of the world will continue to exploit fossil fuels

[@raresuta5895]

I don't think that this view of "the world is transitioning away from fossil fuels" is very correct. If you only look at the car industry then you might have a point (and even there I'm somewhat sceptical) but if you look at other industries, you'll realize that we are far from it. You cannot imagine how many things are made out of oil, from medicine to toys to the very laptop that I'm writing this comment to , just look around you in your house, how much plastic is there? The world will continue to need it's oil until we find something more versatile and cheaper to make than plastic. Also, oil as a fuel will not go away at all, as I said, I'm still very sceptical that people will transition totally to electric cars but even if that would be the case, you still have ships, trucks, planes etc. that need that precious oil. Also, this idea of moving towards 'green' energies is basically a western thing more or less. Most countries (see China or India) are actually increasing their coal usage for example and don't really seem to care that much for this green transition that the western world is currently so obsessed with (apart from making money out of it, of course)

[@drayle71]

One of the issue with the sports plans by is the increase in average temperature due to climate change. There were already some problems with the men's world cup with heat related issues so the closer the gulf state average temperature gets to 50 degrees celsius (at the moment of writing this comment its apparently 43c in saudi Arabia) this issue is only going to get worse. Its a might of a sick joke as these countries try and become less dependent on oil and diversify their economy the climate change effect of the global use of such oil that made them wealthy is making it hard for them to diversify due to the increase in heat making some of these plans potentially none viable

[@MS-np2nf]

Air conditioners will rule the world

[@blizz673]

They are now silently importing Israel technology that was used to turn Deserts into farming land.😂😂😂

[@zergling2621]

​@MS-np2nf you need one large AC or thousands AC units for a football stadium

[@MS-np2nf]

let me get my oil money@@zergling2621

[@barsaforever2009]

You are some dumb.. the southern region in Saudi which is bigger than Germany has an average temperature of 25c during all months

[@Saracen1]

“The problem is that people know too much about Saudi Arabia” smh, Saudi is literally the most misunderstood counrtry in the world.

[@sumantagogoi]

Explain?

[@mmmcounts]

That's not at all true, and if you'll spend some time learning about Israel and its history, you'll start to realize where some of your own blind spots are.

[@mubassirzaman7202]

@@mmmcounts Israel has its own issues as well, its may not be as controversial as Saudi Arabia, but its just as violent. If you know about Israel's history from a unbiased point of view, then you will also see your flaws that is blinded by pride and religion . I'm not saying Saudi's any better, but Israel isn't a Saint in this regard.

[@NahintheW]

​@@mubassirzaman7202Its more violent

[@mambofornasa]

Call it sports-washing or whatever, but football holds my heart. I am a new supporter of the Saudi League and yes it will act as a catalyst of how to speed up economic influence.

[@reidnothing]

Yeah, I want to see more big leagues outside of europe / south america - especialy in Asia

[@greentoby26]

That's nice. How much are you paying to watch the Saudi League?

[@PanteraRossa]

At the beginning of the video you said this money could be better spent in a sovereing wealth fund instead of sports but the wealth fund IS the one spending on sports!!

[@rossstotz775]

I was able to use the price graph in your Henson ad to demonstrate a real life example of the slope intercept form to my kid. Thanks!

[@diomuda7903]

This is also happening in Europe, in particular you can look at Kazakhstan, the UEFA member only because it sought membership change from AFC. Oil and vast money allowed them to manipulate and the Kazakh League is now filled with foreigners with high salary payments, even when Kazakhstan is similar to Saudi Arabia in term of being an authoritarian state and they care nothing for civilians. The only difference is, the Saudis are far smarter than the Kazakhstanis, they exploit Europe without joining UEFA, because joining UEFA has already made Kazakhstan the pariah for many democratic nations (they grudgingly agreed to play but didn't recognise Kazakhstan as an UEFA nation at all). Staying in AFC, which is full of autocrat nations, worked at least for the Saudis to have leverage.

[@davidbowie5023]

The Saudis have their goals: diversifying the economy. The government has involved heavily on it as football is Saudi Arabia's most popular sport. This made them greatly different from China, when Chinese government pressured investors to develop football as part of a general strategy to become a soft power giant (given football has long struggled to gain popularity in the country). However, if this strategy also includes the development of soft power, then Saudi Arabia is years behind.

[@mohammadali59080]

Pardon, but I beg to differ since the very idea of attracting tourists based on the popularity of the players they purchased for excessively large sum of money is very fraudulent ; as people don't go to a match for a specific player but for the league itself let alone going abroad. It's like saying china could get the same audience as in European football leagues by spending billions of dollar. Oh well, we know how that ended up and not to consider China's sovereign fund is almost at 2.5 trillion dollars as compared to Saudi's 800 billion and China's population should be taken into account as well.

[@MsSuperasdfghjkl]

"Sports is just entertainment", Sports is like religion for some 😅🤣😅

[@EconomicsExplained]

So true, it's not my thing but I know a lot of people for whom "football is life" 😅

[@jcliu]

I think Saudi Arabia is helped by geography here-i.e. the same reason Dubai and Qatar successfully built global air travel hubs from scratch. Holding soccer matches in the Middle East puts them in a compromise time zone that works for TV viewers in Europe, Asia, and Africa-and close enough for rich fans from all those places to make the trip.

[@TheSwordfish009]

Incapatible with current Saudi law and culture. Imagine coked up athletes spending their time holding back from fornicating. They have no choice but to relax their outrageous laws if they want this. They've already relaxed certain things like allowing men and women to hold hands and meet without a chaperone. They also are setting up a tourist area where the law may be a little different. We'll see what happens next.

[@greentoby26]

Why would European football viewers make compromises or trips to Arabia in the first place?

[@El7r1ME]

@@greentoby26 For the same reasons fans from all over the world including Saudi Arabia are traveling to Europe to attend matches supporting their favorite teams and players, and to experience the in-stadium atmosphere.

[@ja_u]

The comparison might seem logical, but the gulf states have a major disadvantage, they aren’t naturally habitable and easy to live in. In Singapore or California, you can go out and build a little house (yes it’s getting hotter too, but Saudi Arabia etc started out like 10 C above any type of pleasant weather). This mean to start anything in the literal desert, you need serious capital. Pay for water lines, climatized indoors etc. it’s just not something that will organically grow very easily and without government intervention

[@nietzschesnische7094]

I was kinda surprised two see china on the list with two sovereign wealth funds who are combined worth more than the SWF of any other countries on the list. What differentiates these funds from the ones of Norway and France, and are they working differently? Because China doesn't have the same natural resource wealth than Norway or the gulf states, for example? A video about that topic would be interesting.

[@philoslother4602]

Pension funds

[@Cooe.]

0:42 Except for Salt Lake City 2002!!! Not only did SLC ACTUALLY MAKE MONEY on the Olympics (thanks Mitt Romney), but the area infrastructure upgrades were absolutely CRITICAL to the area's massive tech boom over the past ≈10-15 years! And even the winter sports infrastructure that was built all still gets used as well as the national base for the US Ski & Snowboard Teams among others.

[@missema8062]

Saudi Arabia has started investing in sports as it realizes how much it will attract people from parts of the world.

[@nr6010]

Bro thinks if he mentions human rights enough times we will believe the west or even Australia has no blood on their hands 😂

[@ishaangaur4734]

What it means is that, in the west, there is way more freedom and toleration, as opposed to in the gulf states.

[@dan5974]

@@ishaangaur4734you’re right. In their own countries it’s better, that’s why they commit human rights violations abroad instead.

[@kzcciynk]

One right doesn’t makes the other wrong

[@Lucy-iy9ni]

​@@kzcciynk and ought to work on bettering yourselves instead of critising people, you look crazy.

[@officedrone6167]

I would argue against opening economies to work markets will improve that country’s human rights record. Case in point, Germany taking Russian gas didn’t stop them from invading its neighbors.

[@alexpotts6520]

Yeah, this is something that I used to believe but history just didn't turn out that way. We also see the west (and America particularly) desperately trying to disentangle itself from China, in anticipation of conflict over Taiwan.

[@evancombs5159]

Yup this idea has been proven false many times over. The only purpose of opening an economy is to let your domestic companies dominate a foreign market.

[@Game_Hero]

Hong Kong didn't honkkongify China, it's the opposite that happened.

[@balagopalg5560]

Coming to a country which bans certain things and follow different culture and complain about things they can't get there is outta of this word.

[@fezerr2075]

Honestly, I don't see the Saudi Pro League taking off or being at all sustainable long term. When there is already so much football being played all the time people simply don't need another league to follow, and unless they can become internationally competitive - which is nigh impossible- there's no way they'll generate significant revenue long term to continue signing players on insane wages which is frankly all that's keeping the league even slightly relavant right now.

[@000hasem000]

Hold my beer. We are coming

[@Kh2lid.]

Brother, this simply was the start of investing in sports, you really really have no idea how much money we have to say it’s not possible to keep the singing lol. The whole summer transfers are like a day or couple days worth of oil sales wth are on about !

[@fezerr2075]

@@Kh2lid. yes but you have a limited time on which to keep relying on oil, thats literally why the saudi state is investing so much in other industries. My point is I think the ratio of money spent to fans gained is just not one thats going to result in you making money any time soon, we saw with the chinese league money cant buy the culture the established leagues have.

[@Kh2lid.]

+ yeah no football league in this world would achieve money spent = fans gained ration if they spent as we did. Because its simply not possible if we’re just talking about the sport revenue. But thing with sport is the whole world is passionate about and there is more to this world than the West. It starts with the sport industry and will expand to other industries

[@anasteto4580]

@@000hasem000china has done the same thing but they no win nothing

[@FirstBorn__]

Been waiting for this for some time. Please do an ecplanation for sports washing too. China, Russia and Saudi too.

[@ilililililili563]

that was bold statement about Qatar, im westerner and i thnik i didnt damage its reputation at all. It was considered shithole and now it's considered shithole, but with no danger to foreginers and strict but not overzealous law enforcment. I thnik reputation of Qatar was improved considerably.

[@AdaVadCan]

I strongly endorse the Henson shave razor.

[@yfxgamer80]

saudi arabia is afraid that their oil demand will decrease and they will have to shift to other industries in order to boost their economy and keep it running and hence they are investing in the sports sector , tourism sector , and trying to increase other exports as per their vision 2030 plan

[@suleimankamal9907]

Middle east countries still have great potentials. They are competitive with each other specially uae and ksa because oil money is not forever and they are open to alot of projects that can profitable out of oil .

[@Anonymised520]

Can you also make a video on Nepal and Bhutan as to see how they interact with their neighbouring economic giants😊

[@margaridacorreia1473]

Ahhh been asking for this one!!! Thank you❤

[@economicboardgames]

I always love how even the advert, today, being about shaving products, integrates learnings of some sorts. Nice vid as usual. A lot of combat sports are also showcasing main events to this region as well, another impact on California as per your last video, casino and hospitality impact.

[@bozolito108]

It’s smoke and mirrors to deflect from the fuckery.

[@cheirodelysoform]

Didn’t quite understand the correlation of not respecting human rights and the Olympics+world cup in Brazil. We do have issues with corruption as stated in the news but we are far from being a dictatorship, in fact we are the second largest democracy in the western world. I recommend Economics Explained performs a fact check on this.

[@Jack-he8jv]

you guys have 50k murders per year, alongside 1000+ times more crimes than saudi arabia. democracy =/ good most of sub-africa, americas claim they are democracies btw, not even the US is one.

[@D7EEEMA]

Thank you for making a true effort to understand what we are doing. We are really taking this to bring an outsider’s view on us to shed light on things we need to develop on

[@Gronmin]

Yes so you can continue to bomb hospitals in Yemen, imprison people for life (25 years+) for making negative tweets about the country, so you can kill people for being gay, and so you can kill journalists you don't like and not have any of your businesses further sanctioned. Cause you know who would want to sanction everyones favorite football team just because the government is bombing hospitals or kills people for being gay.... Yeah it's totally not about being able to add political pressure back on the country's that would sanction you. Or about being able to normalize these acts to people around the world so you can continue to do them....

[@lemagnifique1573]

Sport industry can bring other sectors paralelly following to grow, like food, energy, technology, even small enterprises

[@Kemfii]

The world cup in Qatar was probably the best world cup witnessed since probably 2004 and I say that as an African who witnessed the continent wide spectacle of 2010. No one heard of any hooliganism, especially from a particular set of fans, as well as it being the most comfortable world cup for women to attend because of the lack of boozed up lads harassing them, and that's before you even get to the spectacle of the show itself. One needs only to look at the viewership numbers, especially in the countries where media coverage was most negative leading up to and during the tournament to understand how record breaking of a World Cup it was.

[@Omer1996E.C]

The algorithm doesn't like these kinds of comments appreciating any rival for western ideals

[@blizz673]

This is what an orwellian society looks like.

[@akhaled4990]

@@blizz673 the only orwellian state in the middle east is Israel.

[@priceprice_baby]

You should know mate that the most recent World Cup was here in Oz (and NZ).

[@DumplingDan]

Can you please explain why there is the beeping noises in your videos? It sounds like a car backup beeper

[@greentoby26]

Thanks for the reminder. I hit the Subscribe button, like I had a few years ago when there was some quality to be found.

[@johnkology9599]

Hey economics explained, I don't know if you bother reading your comment section but if so then I was wondering if you, as an economics major, could give some advice to an undergrad econ major. I just recently changed from business into economics because I find the subject much more interesting (obviously, seeing I watch your videos), and I was wondering if you could give your honest opinion on the job market for graduate econ majors. I've looked into it online, and it seems like its tough for economic majors to find an actual job after graduation, do you know to the degree in which this is true, and would you be able to recommend some areas in which an economic major could search for work? I'm unfortunately not the most.. math inclined, so I wont be matching my major with statistics and will instead be going for more of the BA arts route in economics instead of science. Thanks for getting me interested in this field, love your content.

[@EconomicsExplained]

Glad to hear how much you enjoy our videos. We should do a video about "The Economics of Studying Economics" haha. I taught at a university but a lot of Economics majors go on to work for big consulting companies and investment firms. Plenty of opportunities, but it's all going to depend on what kind of work excites you.

[@johnkology9599]

@@EconomicsExplained I appreciate the reply. It's very hopeful to hear someone, especially you, having a positive outlook for econ graduates. I've seen so much negativity about job outlook, and this gives me a more hopeful outlook. Wish you continued success with the channel!

[@tylerhackner9731]

Interesting to think about

[@idems75]

France CDC interesting topics , 200 year old quite intertwind with french economic system but praticaly noone know about it in france

[@egal1780]

13:13 yeah, Just Like China getting More progressive and accepting human rights after they became More Developed and global interest in that has Changed so much...

[@r.dragon3763]

Yeah or how russia having economic ties with europe disincentivized aggresssion in ukraine. Modern Economics is more of a worship of current orthodoxy than any sort of science.

[@ronald3836]

@@r.dragon3763 Indeed. Some of the lines in this video seemed to come directly from Angela Merkel's mouth, and her legacy isn´t particularly well regarded now.

[@neilmckay8649]

@1:40 I've never seen the headgear worn so casually, tipped up.

[@asha8443]

My overall take is that players/teams are paid way too much for simply being able to kick around a ball well. Doesn’t make sense when you have scientists finding cures for diseases making a fraction of the salary of these players..

[@EconomicsExplained]

I agree to some extent, but this is all market forces. If scientists could scale their cures to hundreds of millions of people using them every week, they would make a lot of money too.

[@ArawnOfAnnwn]

​@@EconomicsExplained They do scale to comparable numbers. The Green Revolution for instance affected the lives of BILLIONS. The difference is that scientists aren't celebrities, but these schmucks are. So the scientist works as an unsung part of a project and is typically fairly replaceable, whereas these schmucks aren't replaceable not necessarily because you can't find anyone else who can kick a ball around good, but cos of the personal brands (star power) they've built up. It isn't efficient at all, it's just human psychology (parasocial relationships) being used to enrich a handful of showboaters.

[@1lovefootball]

UK England Birmingham City Council has announced effectively declaring Bankruptcy

[@saurabhdang7307]

It is like building a National Identity around sports it is not just about Economics they want to change the image of Saudi . They want a bigger version of Dubai . I mean much bigger .

[@EconomicsExplained]

Makes sense!

[@greentoby26]

Are they also going to have much bigger sewage trucks?

[@pigstain7531]

Here are few ideas next videos : • Zero Waste Economy, Refill Economy, Reusable Economy • Repair Economy • Planned Obsolescent • EPR - Extended Producer Responsibility • Circular Economy • World economy when we achieved black flag (as in no country, all human under one roof united human - no border) • AI humanoid robot assistant for human and its impact to future economy

[@realShikha885]

In my opinion, If they want to improve their imagine then they should work with Governments of some middle to lower income countries and help them in reducing Poverty, Unemployment and illiteracy with so much the cash they have. Fancy projects and sports doesn't seems to be improving their fallen image much but yeah helping others in reducing poverty means you get a long term supporters, because if their was no help by you then those would still be under poverty and illiteracy. They can even help the people of their own faith too.

[@OALM]

Sadly it rarely works like that

[@shailenderganger6512]

Modern day capitalism requires modern day slaves (i.e. those in improvised countries who do not have access to human rights/necessities). Thus, as the richest people on earth, Saudi will never help poor people as those same poor people will build (most likely suffer slavery) their roads, buildings and infrastructure. I mean it is what it is.

[@dionjones6300]

Iirc, Saudis are wahabist (not sure if that's spelled correctly). Not much if any others of the sect

[@justadude1477]

It’s a business, they will 100% destroy the small and middle class to make the top richer.

[@LegendNinja41]

who says they don't? Saudi-Arabia for example hosts 15 Million people from poorer countries and mostly countries in that region, Yemen, Syria, Egypt, Pakistan, India etc. and among other things, is a major source for Remittances to those countries. They are doing alot, but most media in the West rather not talk about it.

[@arnoldmbuthia2687]

Talk about economic injustices too... like what Shell does to the Nigerian economy, the implications of France's overreaching control over West African currencies and resources.

[@mua2]

I don’t think it’s fair to say that the WC tarnished Qatar’s reputation, sure the media really tried hard to make human rights the narrative but the event was a resounding success and almost all attendees and most viewers came around by the end. They did a great job hosting the WC, and I was highly skeptical of them at first. I bet there will be a net increase in tourism and investment in the coming years, which was their entire goal.

[@skp8748]

Qatar put on the world cup so the UAE and Saudi couldn't invade them. That's literally the only reason. They have a total population of 350k with a sovereign wealth fund of half a trillion and they make 300bn a year 😂 They don't need money, pr or tourism. They own half of London and Paris. What they needed was the average person in the world especially in the west to recognise them as a nation.

[@blizz673]

Because most attendees knew that Critisizing policies of this 💩hole's government could land them in a trouble, so why waste you temporary visit for something that create problems.

[@user-cc1so5tq2p]

No one is going to visit Qatar after WC 😂

[@LegendNinja41]

@@user-cc1so5tq2p They have 2.6 Million International Tourists between Jan to Aug 2023. But sure.. ''No one''

[@mua2]

@@user-cc1so5tq2p you don’t speak for anybody, I know plenty who already have.

[@xGUANdeLUPEx]

I totally missed the link with the Saudi league and Newcastle...interesting.

[@Sirclassic]

Aint no body want to fly in a desert to watch a football game

[@spoogerification]

saudi already has the haaj baked in. they don't need to try to become a tourist destination

[@MS-np2nf]

Hajj doesn't generate enough revenue i would assume.

[@TheMask123]

Compared to European countries I don't think so since European Countries have open borders and tourists usually end up visiting multiple countries instead of staying in only one @@MS-np2nf

[@hankhillsnrrwurethra]

LIV would seem to have spiraled down so hard, it created a vortex that took (US) golf with it.

[@OdyTypeR]

I'm holding out hope that LIV will pick up VW as a sponsor, and at the end of all this BS, we at least get the Volkswagen Jeddah Golf tournament to show for it.

[@fornana]

I didn't know that sports is generally a bad business to get into. Is the NFL an outlier then? I heard someone ask the owner of the 49ers (who at the time were the worst team in the NFL) on a podcast if it's possible to lose money, and he said something like 'oh boy you'd have to try really really hard to' lol

[@FaalikF50]

American sports leagues are different, they are a monopoly.

[@louaimehena5575]

​@@FaalikF50and you think others ain't ? Lol

[@ShotgunAFlyboy]

Sport and Xbox have done so much for people around the world knowing about each other.

[@anikmahmud1737]

Xbox??!! Get out of your room bruv.

[@apc9714]

Cause they want the first thing people think of when they hare Saudi Arabia to be Cristiano Ronaldo and not Human right violations

[@ronald3836]

Let's hope Ronaldo won't be chopped up into a little pieces if he says something wrong.

[@wise5674]

I assure you Saudi PIF is the most well-known sovereign world fund, not Norway's. Everyone who watches football knows Saudi PIF

[@MrAce86Productions]

But yet again, it turned out to be the best world cup in recent memory with probably the best final since 1970. All that the world cup taught us that, respect the cultural and local customs of the country, just like you would do in a country when on holiday and everything would be fine, but the media blew everything out of proportion which had deep rooted islamophobia

[@satyam_gautam_01]

Amazing explanation. Love ❤️ from India 🇮🇳🇮🇳🇮🇳

[@vladtheimpalerofd1rtypajee316]

Let's be realistic. India will never be a developed country in it's lifetime. Even if India grows, it will get stuck in the middle income trap forever. India will also face major resource shortage due to overpopulation and face the wrath of climate change. India's resource base isn't large enough to support an economy too large either. Also the West and China can sabotage India in a jiffy if it grows too much. Also most Indians don't have unity and are still backward minded and tribalistic. Corruption and being unethical has become so deep rooted that it's become impossible to fix it. Also, the number of talented Indians leaving India is increasing at an alarming rate every year and many of these Indians who left India brag about India being the next big thing which is extremely comedic. The most mind boggling thing is that even if God comes down from heaven and says that India will never be a developed country, pa jeets will call him anti Indian and continue living in their fantasy of India being a developed country. Moreover, countries that actually became developed bragged less and did more. India brags more and does less. To conclude, India may improve in some areas, but it always stay a corrupt 3rd world uncivilized banana republic. Hence, forget your dreams of being a developed country pa jeets. India is an utterly failed experiment. Adios

[@Dividend_Info]

They know how to market themselves

[@jonahdevs]

I know you are targeting the main stream audience but I think its bad form and further plays into the women's cups don't count default thinking to say the most recent cup was in Qatar when we just had the women play in our own backyard for their World Cup! I know its not intentional but just wanted to put it out there.

[@SteveEwe]

It took you 13 minutes (out of a 16 minute video) to mention "Sportwashing"? Textbook definition of "Burying the Lead".

[@gelodude07]

I might have attention disorder but I think mentioning that Saudi league get aging and washed up footballers is also an important factor. League aint attractive enough for the hot commodity that is Kylian Mbappe to move to Saudi away from Europe in his prime.

[@vanessali1365]

Would you taking about the recent media report of 'Beijing gold-rush'?

[@kevincronk7981]

6:24 holup how are the commanders 9th we are an absolutely terrible team

[@bmunson4920]

On your ‘sports market’….’North America’ does not = ‘the USA’….and that includes the sports market at outlined….

[@emiryigit7299]

Hey man I've got a video idea for you Turkey has been slowly drifting away from it's "islamist economic policies" with the appointment of the new minister of economy and treasury Mehmet Şimşek who was also the deputy prime minister for some time. The central bank has raised the interest rates from 10 to 25% in the matter of a few months.

[@jah211084]

“Zoomy man” lol

[@bobjohnson3940]

I still would like to see a Unites States of the Middle East

[@mohanytube]

Useful information 👍

[@julienferretti3872]

Great vid! I recommend one on the Libyan Sovereign investment fund :)

[@ChickenMusiala]

Saudi Arabia is doing what other countries did before like England and Italy so you shouldn't complain they are transferring players to there country

[@ChickenMusiala]

@plazthalt let me reword it. If you're gonna complain about the Saudi's spending money on sports and buy players then you lowkey need to stfu

[@ChickenMusiala]

@plazthalt as if the US isn't any worse

[@ronald3836]

@plazthalt They are being laughed at for ridiculously overspending on players. It is nice for the players though, specially those close to retirement (provided they do get paid, which is not a certainty).

[@speedyone1477]

@plazthalt Saudi Arabia are a sovereign nation and a sovereign people and they have their own values and can do whatever they please, your values are not the objective truth not everyone goes by your criteria so keep barking

[@oskars1419]

how sport can produce more money than whole usa economy

[@lionelmwabile5743]

Tarnished? Qatar was the best football world cup ever.

[@EconomicsExplained]

The entertainment might have been top notch, but we did a video about the migrant labour used to build the stadiums, and they definitely brought a lot of attention to the inhumane way they dealt with workers.

[@Sam-ue4rv]

​@EconomicsExplained lol how was America made? You need to look into that.. Migrants are used by the companies that take on the work.. most are exploited by their own family and countrymen..

[@greentoby26]

OK Infantino

[@TheeRomantic]

Let's hear your thoughts on the Messi contract 🤔

[@phyarth8082]

Olympics must be happen in one city in 'for example in entertainment capital" Los Angles only host of Olympics can be different every year thematical show. Every year Olympics games is cash grab for taxpayers of Olympic host. It bankrupted Greece state, 90% of infrastructure after games deteriorated and never used again.

[@mynameisnotyours]

Because they are running out of oil and need to switch industries as fast as possible.

[@hectorquinones5579]

Ohhh now I get it: Golf State

[@EconomicsExplained]

Ba dum chiiiii 🤣

[@kingpet]

i mean, wouldn't a solar farm work very well in places where its dry and has a lot of empty land to work with...LIKE SAUDI ARABIA???

[@PegasusFleets]

I hope to see them enjoy a Middle Eastern International Restaurant chain ⛓️ ( like McDonald's) cuisine in all the communities in the world 🌎 😄 😀 😉.

[@EconomicsExplained]

This wasn't a video about Saudi Arabia overall, just the sportswashing, but we should consider doing a national economy video on them.

[@cyrilio]

How does France have such a huge fund? And how can they convince voters it’s worth while to have this?

[@hlokomani]

Qatars image wasn’t tarnished by the World Cup 😂.

[@loginbill7603]

yes it was lol

[@hlokomani]

@@loginbill7603 was literally the best world cup since 2010?

[@AlberYouTube]

5:18 Where are you getting this from? The source you state "SWFI" doesn't seem to back up your claim at all. If this is true it's pretty massive news, but it's nowhere to be found