‘Humanising Saudi Football’: Netflix Show Paves Way For World Cup
Uncertain whether Riyadh’s bid to host the World Cup 2034 will be resisted by a new Netflix series on Saudi football that features crowded stadiums and top-flight talent.
Just three weeks before the FIFA Congress is scheduled to formally approve Saudi Arabia as the sole candidate for the quadrennial event, the six-episode “Saudi Pro League: Kickoff” debuted.
The de facto ruler’s use of sport to increase its influence and strengthen the Gulf kingdom’s reputation will be remembered for the vote on Wednesday.
The Netflix series shows how the Saudi Pro League has been transformed by the addition of international stars like Cristiano Ronaldo, Neymar, and Karim Benzema, all of whom receive a lot of screen time.
The program aims to highlight what one commentator calls “historic passion for football,” which were rival clubs that were established nearly a century ago and have existed almost exclusively since.
In one scene, 17-year-old Saudi Talal Haji, a forward for 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.
He says, “I’m very proud of how my future looks,” and that he anticipates playing in the World Cup on his own soil ten years from now.
The series’ main point is that it kind of humanizes Saudi football, according to Georgetown University’s Danyel Reiche, a researcher who studies the link between politics and sport in the region.
“Because so far, I think people all over the globe, they were just thinking about dollar signs”.
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‘ Mission to change perceptions’ ,
Politics gets little air-time in the series.
Prince Mohammed appears only once, presenting a trophy to Neymar’s Al Hilal after their victory against Ronaldo’s Al Nassr in the King’s Cup tournament.
Ronaldo claims that his only passion is football and isn’t related to his travels in Saudi Arabia.
I’m not here to win any money, or say anything else. I am here to win”, he says.
But the foreign stars “are not just on a football mission”, Reiche said.
They are “on a general mission to normalize Saudi relations with other countries and alter the perceptions of the nation.”
Saudi Arabia has hosted world-class tennis tournaments, heavyweight boxing competitions, and Formula One competitions in addition to signing football legends for the Pro League.
Each event has drawn allegations of “sportswashing” -– or using sport to distract from human rights abuses, such as the 2018 killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi or the jailing of dissidents.
Prince Mohammed has brushed aside these complaints, telling Fox News last year that he would “continue doing sportswashing” if it would grow the Saudi economy.
If the World Cup bid is approved, the criticism will probably continue.
The series is unlikely to pique the interest of seasoned Saudi Arabian critics who view the country’s actions through the lens of sportswashing, according to Rice University’s Baker Institute for Public Policy researcher Kristian Coates Ulrichsen. “The series is probably going to appeal to a general audience who are curious as to why Saudi Arabia is attempting to host the World Cup,” said Ulrichsen.
Saudi government officials declined to comment on the series in response to AFP’s request.
The Saudi Pro League, however, claimed that it had given the players and clubs more access, but that Netflix had the entire editorial control over the series.
Ups and downs ,
Officials and managers who were on the show appear to be primarily concerned with assisting the Pro League through any difficulties.
Abdulrahman Ghareeb, a Saudi winger for Al Nassr who spends time on the bench once the newcomers start arriving, says that the influence of foreign players on the league has both positive and negative effects.
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, according to Transfermarkt, down from 9, 701 in 2022-23, when Ronaldo arrived.
Some of the top recruits have also found it difficult to switch to football in Saudi Arabia, where games are frequently played late at night due to the extreme heat.
Jordan Henderson, a former Liverpool player, left Al Ettifaq for Ajax after just six months, something the Netflix series notes but doesn’t explain.
Karim Benzema, who won the Ballon d’Or, had to wait before making his first appearance at Al-Ittihad, and Neymar was sidelined for almost a year due to a left knee injury.
Saudis have a chance to shine thanks to the unanticipated absence of some foreign players.
“I’ve made it my goal that any Saudi player can play ahead of a foreign star”, says Feras al-Brikan, a striker for Al-Ahli.
A Saudi player should be the team’s focal point, according to the statement. Why should they be foreign”?
Many involved in Saudi Arabia’s sports-heavy makeover realise it is a long-term project.
“In football, it’s not how it starts. It’s how it ends”, said Al Hilal’s Portuguese manager Jorge Jesus.
Source: Channels TV
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