News - Middle East: Saudi Arabia is spending more than a billion dollars to sponsor global sporting events as it looks to burnish its reputation and assert itself as a global superpower, according to a new report out Wednesday.

The report by think tank New Weather Institute revealed that oil giant Aramco, a Saudi state-controlled company and one of the world's most profitable firms, is pouring around $1.3 billion into the global sports industry, leveraging a playbook widely employed by Big Tobacco before it was banned from doing so.

According to the report, the sports receiving the largest amounts from Aramco include football, car racing, rugby, and golf.

It further notes that the Saudi Public Investment Fund heavily relies on its 16% stake in Aramco, which is valued at $1.8 trillion, for its funding.

The report clarifies that Aramco's sports investments do not account for the additional substantial amounts spent separately by the Saudi Public Investment Fund on sports, including $2 billion on the LIV Golf tournament.

It also highlights that Aramco has been responsible for over 4% of global greenhouse gas emissions since 1965, and 5% of emissions between 2016 and 2022.

The authors of the report urge sports organizations like FIFA and the International Olympic Committee to impose bans on sponsorships from fossil fuel companies, similar to the existing ban on tobacco sponsorships. They advocate for increased scrutiny of the environmental credentials of future sponsors.

The report emphasizes that using sports as a platform to promote companies and products contributing to climate change hinders climate action and exacerbates global warming.

Saudi Arabia is anticipated to host the 2034 FIFA World Cup and may also vie for the Summer Olympics in 2036.

Politico notes that the findings come as the just-concluded Paris 2024 Olympics shed light on the extent to which climate change, primarily caused by the burning of oil, gas and coal, is already affecting the health and performances of athletes.

According to the website, experts use the term “sportswashing” to refer to the sponsoring of an athlete or a major sporting event with the intention of distracting world attention from unethical practices such as human rights abuses and corruption scandals.

It stated that, including Aramco, top fossil-fuel firms like TotalEnergies and Shell and petrochemical giant Ineos have together injected “at least” $5.6 billion through 205 active sponsorship deals, the report calculated. Most of the deals remain opaque, however, so their exact amounts, duration and conditions are unknown.

Saudi Arabia is frequently accused of using sportswashing to deflect attention from human rights issues, including regular executions, the war in Yemen, and the 2018 murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi. Critics argue that, despite claims of transformation, the rights of women and girls continue to be denied and dissidents remain suppressed.