January 14 – The long-tailed but failed £300 million Newcastle United takeover bid led by the Saudi Arabia Public Investment Fund (PIP) that ended in floods of tears last July, might not be dead in the water. Certainly there is renewed pressure on the Premier League to further explain why it failed to approve the new ownership.
January 6 – Seemingly not a day goes by without Gianni Infantino courting a Gulf country. On Wednesday, the FIFA president visited Saudi Arabia, the day after the 41st GCC summit ended the three-year blockade of Qatar.
By Paul Nicholson
January 5 – Saudi Arabia has agreed to lift its land and air blockade on Qatar in a major step towards ending a Gulf dispute that has been often been played out in the soft politics of football and football media.
December 14 – Having met with AFC President Shaikh Salman Bin Ibrahim Al Khalifa and AFC General Secretary Dato’ Windsor John on Sunday in Bahrain, the Saudi AFC Asian Cup 2027 bid team officially delivered their Bid Book to AFC headquarters in Kuala Lumpur today.
October 15 – Al Hilal begin the defence of their Saudi Pro League title this week behind closed doors, just a month after having taken the 2019-20 championship.
By Paul Nicholson
September 10 – Saudi Arabia officially launched their bid to host the 2027 Asian Cup last night at 20.27 with a digital roll out that saw projections of the bid logo and slogan around the country and in international media.
September 10 – Newcastle United have accused the Premier League of acting inappropriately after it rejected a takeover by a Saudi Arabian-backed consortium last month.
By Andrew Warshaw
July 31 – In a messy, acrimonious end to a long drawn-out saga that couldn’t go on for much longer, the proposed £300 million take-over of English sleeping giants Newcastle United by a Saudi-led consortium has collapsed, leaving the club and its fans once again in a state of limbo and frustration.
By Samindra Kunti
July 30 – Saudi Arabia has appealed the World Trade Organisation’s (WTO) ruling that it facilitated piracy of Premier League matches after the Kingdom had first claimed that the ruling had been in its favour. It is a move that could impact on Saudi Arabia Public Investment Fund’s (PIF) controversial bid to acquire Newcastle United.
July 20 – A group of cross-party British parliamentarians have launched an 11th hour bid to stop the £300 million takeover of Newcastle United by a Saudi-led consortium.
By Paul Nicholson
July 15 – Saudi Arabia’s decision to “permanently terminate” beIN Sports license to broadcast in the country has been called a “sham” by the Qatari broadcaster, but also throws focus back on to the Premier League who are still to rule on whether Saudi Arabia’s public investment fund can buy Newcastle United.
By Andrew Warshaw
July 22 – In a key move that could break the deadlock over the prospective £300 million takeover of Newcastle United by a Saudi-led consortium, Saudi Arabia has announced a crackdown on illegally streaming sports events.
By Paul Nicholson
June 18 – The takeover of Newcastle United by a consortium led by the Saudi Arabian Public Investment Fund (PIF) looks in doubt after a senior government minister cast doubt on the legality of the takeover following the WTO ruling that the Saudi’s broke international copyright with their support of the beoutQ pirate broadcaster.
By Andrew Warshaw
June 17 – The pressure on the English Premier League to step in and halt the £300 million takeover of Newcastle United following the World Trade Organisation’s (WTO) verdict that Saudi Arabia had facilitated broadcast piracy by the Saudi-based BeoutQ operation is intensifying further after both FIFA and UEFA welcomed the ruling.
By Paul Nicholson
June 16 – The World Trade Organisation (WTO) has published its report into broadcast piracy in Saudi Arabia stating that the country has not acted to prevent the industrial scale copyright theft by pay broadcaster beoutQ.