On September 8, the London-based Al-Arab daily newspaper carried the following report: “Surprisingly, the Confederation of African Football (CAF) announced the annulment of the agreement signed with the Qatari beIN network where the network was allowed to cover the interviews during the African competitions for national teams and clubs. Meanwhile, CAF has reportedly only canceled the agreement after finding an alternative, which consists of the Saudi SSC network, which is the exclusive channel of the Saudi League.

“The problem between the CAF and the Qatari channel represents a golden opportunity for the Saudi channel to attract a new public, which is an option that is aligned with the directions of the political leadership as it is seeking to employ sports as a soft attraction card to shed light on the developments in the Kingdom. The 2022 World Cup hosted by Qatar stirred the Saudis’ excitement for football, and they started to attract international stars, most of whom are at the end of their athletic journey such as the Portuguese Cristiano Ronaldo, the French Karim Benzema, and the Brazilian Neymar. This caused turmoil in the major European tournaments because of the massive financial incentives being offered to the players. If things were to proceed in this fashion, the competition and the clean system that the international sports bodies are trying to instill will be at risk.

“No one knows yet how the Qataris will respond to the fact that the rug is being pulled from under the feet of beIN Sport, especially since the potential agreement between the Saudi SSC and CAF shall open the doors for competing over the major championships… Tension at the level of the sports might take on a political dimension between Qatar and Saudi Arabia, knowing that the reconciliation that was achieved at the Al-Ola summit in January 2021 has not experienced this kind of crisis yet…

“Observers believe that the Saudis’ objective behind the competition with beIN Sport is to step into the media competition on a wide scale and benefit from the momentum created by the channel and its role in the success of the 2022 World Cup, knowing that Saudi Arabia is considering to host the World Cup in 2030, the first year of the 2030 Vision set by Crown Prince Mohammad Bin Salman as the launching of “the new Saudi Arabia” in bracing for the post-oil phase.

“However, the same observers warn that the Saudi dash in the direction of using football and stepping into the television race from its wide gate could stir some string reactions not only on Qatar’s part but also on the part of the international football stakeholders who will not accept an unbalanced competition with an oil country like Saudi Arabia..."