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via Getty

via Getty

Saudi Arabia has been investing billions of dollars to transform the country into a sports hub. They allocated $40 billion to support e-sports, spent millions to acquire a stake in the PFL, and dedicated billions to football. This desert nation is making concerted efforts to establish itself as a future sports hub. Their recent purchase of a minority stake in the PFL marks their entry into the world of MMA. Initially, PFL also expressed its desire to expand its presence in Saudi Arabia.

In a recent podcast, Joe Rogan partook in a conversation wherein he proposed a billion-dollar notion for the desert nation to metamorphose itself into a prospective epicenter of a sports. Throughout the discourse with Bryan Callen, Brendan Schaub, and Sam Tripoli, Rogan delved deep into the sphere of boxing.

Joe Rogan contemplates Saudi Arabia becoming a sports destination

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The 56-year-old color commentator recently engaged in a conversation with Bryan Callen, Brendan Schaub, and Sam Tripoli, during which they delved into the topic of Saudi Arabia spending a substantial amount of money to establish itself as a sports hub. In the midst of the conversation, Joe Rogan quoted Terence Crawford with a hint of uncertainty, saying, “Was it Terrance Crawford that said much to buy them all up? Was it him? So what Terrance Crawford said is someone should buy all the organization to meet world champions like 5 world champions and make it 1.”

Joe Rogan pitched the wild idea to drop a billion bucks and buy up the big boxing organizations – WBC, WBO, and IBF – to wipe out all the world champs. He said, ” They[Saudi Arabia] spend like a billion dollars and buy all of them. You buy the WBC, you buy the WBO, you buy the IBF. We’re done. The Saudis. Everybody shut the f**k up there’s no more world champions. If the Saudis are listening right now gentlemen, please, I will tweet about it. I will support it 100%..” Basically, Rogan is gunning for a major shake-up in boxing, powered by big money and one hell of a consolidation move.

Saudi Arabia’s insane plan to establish itself as a sports and entertainment destination

Under the leadership of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Saudi Arabia has an ambitious reform drive called Vision 2030. The ambitious plan is based on reducing the country’s dependence on oil and creating opportunities for its youth on an increasing scale. As part of this transformation, Saudi Arabia is investing heavily in sports. It has allocated a whopping 142 billion riyals (about $38 billion) to become a global hub for eSports by 2030. This money will be used to acquire game publishers, invest in gaming projects, and support established and emerging players in the gaming and eSports industry.

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In addition to eSports, Saudi Arabia is also investing heavily in traditional sports. Saudi has secured a 10-year $650 million contract to develop Formula One, allocated large sums to the Saudi International Golf Championship, partnered with WWE, and developed major boxing programs. This investment in Saudi Arabia is essential to its goal of becoming the world’s leading sports and entertainment destination.

What are your thoughts on Saudi’s heavy investments in the realm of sports? And do you think they will be able to become a world sports destination? Do tell us in the comments below.

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