LIV Golf: Is Saudi Arabia's sports revolution unravelling? - BBC Sport

Saudi Arabia will withdraw its multi-billion dollar backing of LIV Golf, but what does this mean for the country's other sporting investments? Dan Roan takes a closer look.

Image source, Getty ImagesImage caption, LIV Golf's last event was held in Mexico and won by Jon Rahm

Sports editorPublished1 May 2026The decision by Saudi Arabia's sovereign wealth fund to stop bankrolling LIV Golf at the end of the season has plunged the future of the breakaway series into doubt.

It has also posed questions over the country's many other sporting investments.

After all, the kingdom has ploughed tens of billions of pounds over the past decade into establishing itself as a global sports hub, hosting an array of major events, from high-profile boxing fights and Formula 1 races, to tennis and horse racing. Most significantly, the kingdom will host the men's Fifa World Cup in 2034.

So what does the Public Investment Fund's (PIF) withdrawal from LIV mean for the rest of their portfolio?