The whole “sportswashing” bit never made a lot of sense to me. I highly doubt Saudi Arabia, Qatar or the UAE care much about changing a bunch of western liberal’s opinions on them. In my opinion owning these clubs is more about access and leverage with the UK gov, and perhaps a degree of vanity.
Oh they are definitely sportswashing, but it has more to do with the fact that it helps manufacture consent for western governments selling them arms and generally using them to help destabilize the Middle East
The whole “sportswashing” bit never made a lot of sense to me. I highly doubt Saudi Arabia, Qatar or the UAE care much about changing a bunch of western liberal’s opinions on them. In my opinion owning these clubs is more about access and leverage with the UK gov, and perhaps a degree of vanity.
Oh they are definitely sportswashing, but it has more to do with the fact that it helps manufacture consent for western governments selling them arms and generally using them to help destabilize the Middle East