ABSTRACT
This chapter examines soft power and the geopolitical era of sport within the context of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s broadening efforts to cultivate and exploit soft power. In so doing, the nature of soft power and soft disempowerment are discussed, and the mimetic isomorphism behind Saudi Arabia’s investments and interests in global sport is explored. The chapter highlights the geopoliticization of global sport, including state ownership of global sporting institutions, strategic investments in mega-sporting event ownership by developing economies and rentier states, and extensive state-funded sponsorship and broadcast investment throughout the sporting ecosystem. Specifically, the chapter analyses the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s investment in the Formula 1 Grand Prix, LIV Golf, the Spanish Super Cup, and World Wrestling Entertainment.
