Why Saudi Arabia wants all the sports

- In Northeastern England,

there is a football club called Newcastle United.

It joined the English Football League way back in 1893,

and then won several trophies in the early 1900s.

In 1955, it won the English League's top trophy,

but since then it hasn't won a thing.

It was bought and sold by several generations of owners,

but none of them could bring success.

All the while its fans grew frustrated.

In 2021, Newcastle was hovering near the bottom

of the English Premier League

when suddenly everything changed.

(crowd cheering)

- [Announcer] The English Premier League's Newcastle United

has been acquired by Saudi Arabia's

multi-billion dollar sovereign wealth fund.

- It was a huge deal for New Castle United,

but just the tip of the iceberg for Saudi Arabia.

Over the past several years,

the country has spent at least $10 billion on sports teams,

events and sponsorships in soccer, auto racing,

boxing, wrestling and golf.

Many are claiming that Saudi Arabia's spending spree

is simply sportswashing.

- I wonder if you could define for us

what is sportswashing.

- Sportswashing is the deployment of sports

for the purpose of cleansing

a country's image and reputation.

- Adolf Hitler did it in 1936 by hosting the Olympic Games

while persecuting Jews and minorities.

Argentina's military junta did it in 1978

by hosting the FIFA World Cup

while killing thousands of dissidents.

And Vladimir Putin did it in 2014 and 2018

as he repressed dissent at home and started wars abroad.

Today, the leaders of Saudi Arabia frequently jail

and execute anyone who speaks out against them,

harshly suppress women's and gay rights,