‘Humanising Saudi football’: Netflix show paves way for World Cup
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Al-Ittihad fans cheer ahead of the Saudi Pro League football match against Al-Nassr at King Abdullah Sports City in Jeddah on Dec 6.
PHOTO: AFP
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RIYADH – A new Netflix series on Saudi football features packed stadiums and top-flight talent, but whether it can curb criticism of Riyadh’s bid to host World Cup 2034 is a question.
The six-episode Saudi Pro League: Kickoff debuted three weeks before the Fifa Congress is set to formally approve Saudi Arabia – the sole candidate – as host of the quadrennial spectacle.
The vote on Dec 11 will be a crowning moment for de facto ruler Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s use of sport to amass influence and improve the Gulf kingdom’s global image.
Football has been at the heart of that effort, and the series depicts how the Saudi Pro League has been transformed by the arrival of global stars like Cristiano Ronaldo, Neymar and Karim Benzema.
The show also seeks to highlight what one commentator describes as Saudi Arabia’s “historic passion for football” – clubs founded nearly a century ago, and rivalries dating back nearly that long.
In one scene, 17-year-old Saudi Talal Haji, a forward for Al-Ittihad, walks with a friend through the old city of Jeddah. Wearing a thobe, the white robes donned by Saudi men, he reflects on how the country is changing.
“I am very proud of how my future looks,” he said, predicting he will play in the World Cup on home soil a decade from now.
Georgetown University Qatar’s Danyel Reiche, who researches the intersection of politics and sport in the region, said that the main accomplishment of the Netflix series is that “it’s kind of humanising Saudi football”.
“Because so far, I think people all over the globe, they were just thinking about dollar signs,” he said.
Al-Nassr’s Ronaldo, in one scene, tells the camera his Saudi sojourn is purely about football.
“I am not here to win money or whatever they want to say,” he said. “I am here to win.”
Along with signing football legends to the Pro League, Saudi Arabia has hosted elite tennis tournaments, world heavyweight boxing matches and Formula One races.
Each event has drawn allegations of “sportswashing” – or using sport to distract from human rights abuses.
Prince Mohammed has brushed aside these complaints, telling Fox News in 2023 that he would “continue doing sportswashing” if it would grow the Saudi economy.
The criticism is likely to persist, assuming the World Cup bid gets the green light.
“The series is unlikely to change any minds among entrenched critics of Saudi Arabia who view the kingdom’s moves through the lens of sportswashing,” said Kristian Coates Ulrichsen of Rice University’s Baker Institute for Public Policy.
“It may be intended at a general audience who are curious as to why the country is bidding to host the World Cup.”
The Saudi Pro League said it had facilitated access to the clubs and players but the story itself was crafted by Netflix, which retained full editorial control over the series.
Officials and coaches interviewed in the show seem focused primarily on helping the Pro League through any growing pains. Crowd numbers are an issue, despite frequent shots of flag-waving fans filling Saudi stadiums.
Average attendance for the 2023-24 season was 8,158, down from 9,701 in 2022-23, when Ronaldo arrived.
Some star recruits have also had a difficult transition to football in Saudi Arabia, where games are often played late at night due to the intense heat.
Ultimately, many involved in Saudi Arabia’s sports-heavy makeover realise it is a long-term project.
“In football, it’s not how it starts,” said Al Hilal’s Portuguese coach Jorge Jesus. “It’s how it ends.” AFP
