Saudi PIF’s Concacaf deal aims to make inroads into North American football

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Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) and Concacaf have signed a multi-year strategic partnership, the sovereign wealth fund said on Thursday, a move that highlights the kingdom’s growing influence in global sport.

The partnership deal will support the sport’s growth at all levels while boosting Concacaf tournaments for men, women, and youth of national teams and clubs.

PIF and Concacaf agreed to promote and advance football development initiatives across North and Central America and the Caribbean. The partnership seeks to provide children and youth across 41 Concacaf federations with access to the sport.

The announcement comes as the region gears up to host major football tournaments in the coming years, including the men’s and women’s Concacaf Champions Cups, the 2025 Concacaf Gold Cup and the next FIFA World Cup in 2026.

The partnership will support Concacaf in its efforts to increase the number of official youth championships it delivers in the coming years. It will also provide further opportunities for emerging talents in the region, including through the Concacaf under-15, under-17, and under-20 championships for both men and women.

#PIF and @Concacaf have today announced a multi-year partnership that will support their shared ambition to grow football at every level of the game in North America, Central America and the Caribbean.

Learn more: https://t.co/UfwnVPhIdI pic.twitter.com/0d5VsI2Klm

— Public Investment Fund (@PIF_en) August 15, 2024

The Concacaf partnership adds to PIF’s growing portfolio of partnerships across tennis, golf, football, and electric motorsports. PIF is the main financial backer of LIV Golf and has a sporting portfolio that includes soccer club ownership at home and abroad, including Premier League Newcastle United.

Earlier this year, PIF announced a multi-year partnership with Formula E, Extreme E and E1 powerboat racing to ‘supercharge’ the growth of electric motorsport globally. It said the Electric 360 partnership would also drive technological innovation and advance the future of electric mobility.

PIF also signed a multi-year strategic partnership with the ATP Tour. The PIF will now become the official naming partner of the men’s rankings as well as partner ATP tournaments in Indian Wells, Miami, Madrid, Beijing, the season-ending ATP Finals in Turin and the Next Gen ATP Finals staged in Jeddah.

Meanwhile, Saudi Aramco signed a four-year worldwide partnership deal with FIFA in April, making the state-energy giant a partner, including in major tournaments such as the World Cup 2026 and the Women’s World Cup 2027.

Saudi Arabia is making big bets on global sports as the kingdom looks toward a post-oil future. The country officially launched its bid to host the 2034 soccer World Cup in July, a bid that is all but certain to succeed due to the absence of any other expressions of interest before FIFA’s deadline late last year.

Read: Aramco signs multi-year global partnership deal with FIFA