SPL showcases global ambitions in landmark World Football Summit participation | OneFootball

The Saudi Pro League (SPL) showcased its vision for the transformation of the club football landscape in Saudi Arabia through its participation at this week’s World Football Summit Asia 2024 (WFS Asia 24), held at the King Abdullah Financial District (KAFD) in Riyadh.

Thanks to its institutional partnership with the SPL, the event gathered thousands of industry leaders, and reinforcing Saudi Arabia's rising influence in global football. WFS represents a crucial step toward Vision 2030's ambitious goal of increasing the sports sector's contribution to 2.5-3 percent of Saudi Arabia’s national Gross Domestic Product.

Speaking at a panel titled “Inside the Revolution: Unveiling the SPL’s Transformation” on the opening day of the event, SPL Chief Executive Officer Omar Mugharbel explained the rationale behind the emergence of the SPL as a disruptor of global football’s status quo.

“Why now? Simply put, because football runs in our blood; we are a football mad nation; we grew up watching football and playing it in our neighbourhoods and schools,” Mugharbel said.

“it’s something that is deeply ingrained in our society, so it was only befitting that, with all the transformation happening in all sectors, that we build a national product that we can all be proud of and that we can then export to the rest of the world.”

In early 2023, the SPL launched a transformation strategy aligned with Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030, aiming to position the league among the world's best. The CEO insisted, though, that this objective is not to the detriment of the established leagues in Europe.

“Our objective is not to compete or create rivalries; our approach is a democratic approach,” Mugharbel said. “We believe we are contributing to the betterment of football globally. It’s the No.1 sport in the world and we have a role to play in developing the game.

“Our focus is on building a competitive league for the love of the people in Saudi and then exporting that league to the rest of the world. It’s about how we contribute to the whole football ecosystem.”

With the league recording impressive growth during the past 18 months across key metrics including revenue and sponsorships, broadcast deals, and total attendances, Mugharbel welcomed guests to visit the Kingdom and see for themselves what the project is all about.

“It’s important that we continue to open our doors to welcome people to experience this transformation firsthand,” he said. “The work that is happening across the board is looking at every aspect of the game; once you experience what is happening on the ground, you will have a different opinion, and you will leave as a believer.”

One area where the league has achieved remarkable growth is its digital channels, where the SPL’s social-media followers grew by more than 230% since June 2023, with six new accounts launched in Arabic, English and Chinese and SPL clubs adding a combined 45 million new followers in the same period.

Gen Z are at the heart of the SPL’s digital revolution, with recent research showing huge growth of interest in football in the Middle East among younger fans, with the region seeing a surge in young player-over-club fans.

SPL General Manager of Marketing, Comms and Content, Mohammed Basrawi, offered his input in a WFS panel titled “The Gen Z era: Understanding upcoming trends that will transform global football, brands and broadcasting”.

The panel also featured representatives of recent SPL partners One Football as well as UK-based production house Whisper, which recently produced “Saudi Pro League: Kickoff” - a short docu-series on the 2023-24 Roshn Saudi League season, currently streaming on Netflix.

Basrawi highlighted the SPL’s focus on storytelling beyond the 90 minutes through both short-form content, including behind-the-scenes mobile content, and long-form video content.

With the SPL ranking as the top domestic competition in Asia according to the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), Mugharbel was back on stage for the closing day of WFS to join representatives of Japan’s J-League and Malaysia’s MFL in a panel discussion titled “Football in Asia: Challenges & Opportunities”.

Mugharbel highlighted the SPL’s partnership with the J-League, signed in May 2024, as a model of how the league collaborates with the Asian and global football community to exchange, learn and develop the competition.

In addition to the SPL, WFS Asia 2024 featured representatives from global brands, including TikTok, PepsiCo, Meltwater, Turkish Airlines, Deloitte, Roland Berger, PwC, The FBA, Radisson Hotel Group, ATOS, as well as leading Saudi businesses such as MACE, SMC, SCAI, SELA, and The PIF actively participating in the discussions, bringing diverse perspectives to the future of the football business.