If you’re a sports fan, you may have noticed Saudi Arabia making billions of dollars of investments in everything from Formula 1 to professional tennis. In two high profile moves, the Saudis backed the merger of LIV Golf with the PGA tour earlier this month, and recruited soccer superstar Cristiano Ronaldo to the Saudi Professional League for a reported $200 million a year in January.
Critics say the reason for this investment in sports is “sportswashing”: an intentional move to build international prestige and distract from the actions of Saudi Arabia’s repressive regime, which has been known for torture, mass executions,
