The Saudi Ministry of Sport Launches the Eighth Edition of the Strategy Through a Model Linking Funding to Performance, Governance, Fans, and Commercial Revenues

Riyadh | BETH

The Saudi Ministry of Sport launched on Monday the new edition of the Sports Clubs Support Strategy for the 2026–2027 sports season, marking its eighth year as part of a path aimed at developing club performance, raising institutional efficiency, and strengthening clubs’ ability to achieve financial and administrative sustainability.

The new edition introduces a shift that goes beyond providing financial support, as it links clubs’ eligibility for support to their performance in governance, the development of various sports, fan attraction, improvements to facilities and digital services, and the growth of commercial revenues.

The strategy is based on a funding and incentive model aimed at transitioning clubs from heavy dependence on government support toward building sports institutions that are more capable of operation, investment, and competition.

Seven Tracks

The strategy is based on seven main initiatives:

• Direct support.
• Various sports.
• Governance.
• Fan attendance.
• Facility development.
• Digital transformation.
• Increased commercial revenues.

Bringing these initiatives together within a single system reveals that club evaluation will not be limited to results on the field. It will extend to the quality of management, spending efficiency, diversity of activities, and the club’s ability to serve its fans and develop its resources.

Support therefore becomes a means of developing the club as an integrated institution, rather than a reward linked solely to its football team.

Revenue Instead of Dependence

The initiative to increase commercial revenues represents the most prominent addition to the new edition, as it transfers part of the responsibility for financial sustainability to the clubs themselves.

The initiative aims to enable clubs to develop their own resources, enhance their investments and business models, and benefit from their brands, fan bases, facilities, products, and partnerships with the private sector.

This step means that a club capable of creating new sources of income will not be evaluated in the same way as a club that merely relies on the support provided to it without developing its resources.

The initiative could also encourage clubs to establish specialized commercial departments, improve the marketing of rights and sponsorships, develop stores, memberships, and digital products, and utilize facilities outside match times.

The success of this track, however, will depend on the nature of its measurement indicators. Clubs differ in size, fan reach, geographical location, and brand value. Evaluation therefore needs to consider each club’s capacity and actual opportunities, rather than relying solely on a comparison of revenues.

The Fan as a Permanent Partner

The fan attendance initiative carries a broader meaning than merely increasing the number of spectators in the stands.

The strategy seeks to improve the fan experience and engagement, and then convert fans into permanent members. This means building an ongoing relationship between the club and its supporters, rather than limiting it to the purchase of a match ticket.

This relationship could open additional sources of revenue for clubs through memberships, season tickets, products, digital services, and club-related events.

The initiative also makes the quality of the fan experience part of performance evaluation, beginning with the ease of purchasing tickets and entering the facility, and extending to the level of services, digital communication, and programs provided to members.

The fan therefore ceases to be merely a number in the stands and becomes a fan-based and commercial asset that the club must preserve and develop.

Governance Protects Money

Governance remains one of the strategy’s most important initiatives, as it represents the foundation that protects the other support tracks.

The initiative is based on developing evaluation standards and performance indicators, strengthening compliance with regulations and rules, establishing the principles of transparency and accountability, and raising the efficiency of administration and financial governance.

The importance of governance is not limited to fulfilling administrative requirements. A club that lacks clear financial management, defined authorities, and accurate data will not be able to attract investors or build stable partnerships, regardless of its popularity.

Governance therefore forms the link between government support and private investment, as it gives partners and financiers a greater ability to assess the club’s position and understand how its resources are managed.

The Sports Clubs Support Strategy was launched in 2019, with the development of governance and various sports among the most prominent areas addressed during its previous editions.

Facilities and Platforms

The new edition continues efforts to develop facilities and advance digital transformation, with the aim of raising the efficiency of infrastructure and the services provided to clubs and their fans.

Digital transformation includes unifying operational platforms and improving data flows, helping to monitor performance, reduce repetitive procedures, and improve the quality of administrative and financial decisions.

Facility development, meanwhile, should not be limited to maintenance and preparation work. It should extend to improving their use and investment, and transforming them into spaces that operate throughout the week through training sessions, events, stores, and community services.

Facility development therefore intersects with the increase in commercial revenues. A facility that is improved without an operating and investment model could become an ongoing cost, while an efficiently managed facility can generate sporting, economic, and social value.

Beyond Football

The various sports initiative continues to encourage clubs to expand their sporting activities and avoid limiting their resources and attention to football.

The initiative takes on particular importance as the Kingdom’s participation in international competitions expands, along with the need to build a broader base of male and female athletes in individual and team sports.

It also helps discover talent in different regions, improve the quality of domestic competitions, and increase the ability of sports federations to form more competitive national teams.

Supporting various sports therefore becomes an investment in the future of Saudi sport, rather than merely an increase in the number of teams within a club.

What Has Not Yet Been Announced

The announcement identified the seven initiatives and their general objectives, but it did not disclose details of the financial allocations, the weight assigned to each initiative in the evaluation process, the support thresholds available to each category of club, or the mechanism that will measure growth in revenues and fan attendance.

These details are important because they will determine clubs’ actual behavior during the season and reveal how much funding will be allocated as direct support and how much will be linked to achieving specific indicators.

It will also be important to understand how the differences between major clubs with large fan bases and less prominent clubs will be taken into account, as well as the differences between clubs in major cities and those operating in limited local markets.

BETH Analysis

The new edition reflects a more mature stage in the relationship between the state and sports clubs.

Government support will remain a fundamental element in developing the sector, but its function is gradually changing: from covering needs to encouraging clubs to improve their management and generate a larger share of their own income.

The most important transformation is that governance, fans, facilities, and digital platforms are no longer separate files. They have become components of a single economic model:

Good management protects money, developed facilities improve the experience, the experience attracts fans, fans create commercial value, and revenues give the club a greater ability to continue and compete.

The new strategy does not ask the club only: How much support do you need?

It also asks: What have you achieved with what you received, and how much can you generate on your own?