Socceroos great Tim Cahill has said people who criticise the influx of sovereign wealth into sport neglect the fact trade deals exist between Australia and countries like Saudi Arabia and Qatar.
The 45-year-old all-time leading Socceroos goalscorer has worked for six years in Qatar, and has the title of international sports advisor at the country’s government-backed Inspire Academy.
Cahill was asked for his views on sovereign wealth investment in sport at the SportNXT conference in Melbourne on Wednesday.
Governments and government-linked entities from countries including Saudi Arabia, UAE and Qatar have invested billions of dollars into sport but some have drawn criticism for their human rights and development records amid accusations of sportswashing.
“We talk about business, we talk about governments, let’s talk about maybe government trade deals before we start talking about sponsorship,” Cahill said.
“[People say] if there’s trade deals between Saudi Arabia or Qatar and these countries, that’s fine, but [sporting] sponsorships, not so,” he said.
Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade notes Qatar is a top-three trading partner for Australia in the Middle East and North Africa region, with two-way trade worth $3.4bn in 2023. Trade with Saudi Arabia, “an important trading partner” according to the Dfat country brief, was valued at $2.07bn in 2023-24.
“I really feel it’s important to know the whole broader … understanding of global politics and also investment into countries,” Cahill said.
Cahill asked the crowd whether people “don’t like” Cristiano Ronaldo because he is paid hundreds of millions of dollars to play for Saudi Pro League club Al-Nassr, which is backed by the nation’s Public Investment Fund (PIF).
“I feel like it’s very difficult to pick one little point to have that conversation and then miss out the point where it’s our prime minister, sitting together [with nations like Saudi Arabia] and doing deals,” he said.
Former A-Leagues executive Danny Townsend, who is now chief executive of the PIF-backed SURJ Sports Investments, said his organisation was looking for a return on investments, but the required financial return was not as strict as in an industry such as oil and gas.
“We’ve got a cultural and social responsibility at SURJ to deliver on some of those mobility metrics and health metrics that that the Crown Prince [Mohammed bin Salman] is looking for through his Vision 2030 [plan] and beyond,” he said.
The PIF has invested in sporting businesses including Newcastle United and LIV Golf in the past, but SURJ was established in 2023 as a sports-focused investment vehicle.
SURJ announced a minority investment in streaming platform Dazn in February. Dazn’s acquisition of Foxtel announced in December is currently subject to ACCC and FIRB review.
“We’re not looking at putting our capital to work in sports that aren’t willing to change,” Townsend said.
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“What we’re looking to do socially in Saudi is change a cultural profile, and sports that are willing to help us do that will help themselves in the process, which I think makes for a good investment.”
Cahill was part of a panel on the state of sport alongside Netball Australia chair Liz Ellis and former chair of the Australian Sports Commission John Wylie.
Wylie criticised Australian governments for providing funding for elite professional sports over the grassroots, with a focus on “votes” and “eyeballs”.
“[Governments] look at the AFL and the NRL and the popularity of those teams and say we’re going to invest in that and not invest in grassroots,” he said.
Ellis – whose sport netball does not have gambling sponsorships – said officials needed to think “very carefully” about taking money from sports betting.
“One of the reasons we do that is because we don’t think it sits very well with our views on our sport’s social impact and the effect of gambling on families of women,” she said.
“But on the flip side, I see other sports getting wealthy off gambling sponsorships, right, so why are we missing out on that?”
Ellis added other countries have had the same kind of conversations about sovereign wealth that Australia is only recently coming around to, and overseas sports entities were now “getting on with taking investments”.
“You do have to think carefully about where your revenue comes from and who you take money from, but I think you have to be very pragmatic about it too, and if there’s other sports that are bigger and stronger than you taking that money and you’re getting left behind, is that wisest for you?”
