Saudi maps a SR18bn sports investment pipeline to 2030

Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Investment has outlined sports-sector opportunities worth around SR18 billion, or roughly $5 billion, as the Kingdom targets a market size of about SR85 billion by 2030. Projects highlighted span infrastructure, events and training facilities, including at least 135 World Cup training camp sites and a proposed sports city in the Eastern Province valued at up to SR1 billion.

The pipeline also extends well beyond traditional sport. Saudi Arabia is continuing to push into gaming and esports, where cumulative investment has reached about $13.3 billion, while a $267 million agreement was signed on the sidelines to develop a sports city in Dammam with private-sector backing and support from the Sharqia Development Authority. Taken together, the programme shows Vision 2030 moving beyond headline acquisitions and into the build-out of domestic facilities, event platforms and talent infrastructure ahead of the 2034 FIFA World Cup.

Riyadh is not just talking about sport as a visibility play; it is presenting a live pipeline of investable projects across facilities, academies and event infrastructure, with domestic economic impact now sitting alongside global profile as a key measure of value.