The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is counting on the power of sport to help drive the nation to social, cultural and economic victory. On the road to 2030, the government has driven female inclusion in sports, both in taking part as well as spectating. Saudi Arabia is looking to foster social and economic reform and sport is set to play a key role in championing the transformation of every aspect of the kingdom – from social cohesion and gender equality to national identity and even global diplomatic relations.
According to Dr Simon Rofe, Global Diplomacy Programme Director at SOAS University of London, developing a sports ecosystem cultivates ‘economic multipliers of exchange’ which influence other dimensions of society.
“For example, participating in sport enables Saudi Arabia to show that it is part of the community of nations, which aids public diplomacy,” says the professor.
Dr Rofe, who led a training programme in Riyadh for the Saudi Olympic Committee in 2016 and is the author of the forthcoming book 'Sport and Diplomacy: Games within Games', adds: “Sports brings health benefits to those participating, lower national health care costs, increased productivity and infrastructure investment opportunities.”
Princess Reema bint Bandar, who is the newly-appointed head of the Saudi Federation for Community Sports and vice president for Development and Planning at the Saudi Arabian General Sports Authority, told an audience at London’s Chatham House think tank in March: “I am building an entire sports ecosystem: From the athletes, to the female ushers, and security guards, we’re going from the micro to the macro to the triple macro. Everything to do with sports must be included in the future planning of the country — that’s my job.”
Some of the National Transformation Program (NTP) 2020 initiatives under Princess Reema’s extensive remit are: The promotion of sports and physical activities; improved return on investment in sports clubs and facilities; and enabling Saudi elite athletes to achieve high performance on a sustainable basis in different sports.
“It is likely that $3 billion to $5 billion will be spent on developing a sports ecosystem by 2030. The sport will have a significant, positive impact on the Kingdom’s economy through its contribution to growth and jobs,” predicts Wes Schwalje, COO of Dubai-based research firm Tahseen Consulting.
So what does it take to make a nation of Olympic-quality athletes? The COO says countries that have historically performed well in the Olympics or which overcame significant performance declines provide some guidance on critical success factors for countries like Saudi Arabia, which are in the process of building sports ecosystems.
“Based on the waxing and waning performance of countries like the UK, it is certainly possible for countries to significantly enhance the performance of their Olympians and for countries like Saudi Arabia to make great progress in equalising with countries which have historically had strong showings at the Olympics” he says.
“For example, in the 1996 Olympics, the UK finished 36th with just one gold medal. At the 2016 Olympics, the UK finished second to the US with 27 gold medals. The UK’s declining performance was largely viewed as a consequence of deterioration in its sport ecosystem, which it subsequently rebuilt from the ground up. Stories like this are the case studies countries like Saudi Arabia should look towards as inspiration,” Schwalje adds.
The COO says countries that perform well in global sports also typically have strong centres of sports excellence that provide training programmes, equipment, and accommodation to top athletes. “We already see Saudi Arabia making significant investments in building this grass roots ecosystem including building youth sports facilities, establishing sports awareness programs, creating community sports groups, and improving the performance of coaches through its national coaching strategy,” he says.
Schwalje also says that the inclusion of women into sports will also help to ‘fast track’ its sports development. “Recent initiatives in association with Saudi Vision 2030 are catalysts that will likely fuel a larger societal debate about equal opportunity and evolving ideas on the role of women in social, economic, and political life,” he says. “Institutionalised masculinity is a norm in several countries, in sports in particular, and it can only be challenged effectively if more men begin to see women as equals in sport and other aspects of life.”