Everyone comments on state money in sport; almost nobody organizes the facts. The Map is exactly that: a map of observable power in sport, case by case, with a declared source and a figure per line. It's not a ranking or a score, and it doesn't measure "soft power": it measures what can be verified.
777 Partners' takeover of Everton lapsed on 31 May 2024 after the firm missed the deadline to prove funds, amid the group's financial collapse.
On 5 June 2023 the PIF took a 75% stake in four Saudi league clubs under the Sports Clubs Investment and Privatisation Project, aligned with Vision 2030.
In June 2022 RedBird agreed to buy AC Milan from Elliott Investment Management, which stayed on as a minority investor.
Textor controls Lyon, Botafogo and RWDM through Eagle Football; in July 2025 he sold his 45% stake in Crystal Palace to Woody Johnson for £190m due to UEFA's multi-club ownership rules.
Savvy Games Group, created in 2022 and wholly owned by the PIF, controls ESL FACEIT Group and bought Scopely for US$4.9 billion (2023).
A consortium led by PIF (80%), alongside PCP Capital Partners and the Reuben Brothers (10% each), completed the purchase on 7 October 2021 after Premier League approval.
RedBird bought just over 10% of Fenway Sports Group in March 2021, valuing the group at more than US$7 billion.
The PIF financed the creation of LIV Golf Investments in October 2021 (Greg Norman as CEO), being the majority shareholder of the golf circuit.
A holding controlled by the Abu Dhabi United Group (81%) that holds stakes in football clubs across several continents, with Manchester City as the anchor club.
QSI, an arm linked to the Qatar Investment Authority, bought 70% of PSG in June 2011 and acquired the remaining 30% in March 2012, taking full control.
The Abu Dhabi United Group, a vehicle of Sheikh Mansour (vice-president of the UAE), bought Manchester City from Thaksin Shinawatra in September 2008.
Red Bull has controlled clubs since buying Salzburg (2005) and the MetroStars/New York Red Bulls (2005), adding RB Leipzig (2009) and Bragantino (2019).
Saudi Arabia was confirmed as the sole host of the 2034 World Cup by acclamation of the federations at the FIFA Congress on 11 December 2024, after Australia withdrew and left it unopposed.
Brazil was chosen to host the 2027 Women's World Cup by open vote of the FIFA Congress in Bangkok (119 to 78 over the joint Belgium-Germany-Netherlands bid); the first in South America.
The WTA announced in April 2024 an agreement with the Saudi Tennis Federation to host the WTA Finals in Riyadh from 2024 to 2026, with a record US$15.25 m in prize money in women's tennis in 2024.
On 18 May 2024, Riyadh (Kingdom Arena) hosted Tyson Fury vs Oleksandr Usyk, the first heavyweight unification of the four-belt era, within the Riyadh Season, an entertainment programme funded by the Saudi state.
The inaugural edition of the Saudi Arabia Snooker Masters took place in Riyadh from 30 August to 7 September 2024, with £2.3 m in prize money, the second largest on the circuit after the World Championship.
The Baku street circuit is funded by the government of Azerbaijan (oil revenue) for national exposure; the annual fee is reported at around US$55-57 m (journalistic estimate).
Hassan Al-Thawadi, secretary-general of the organizing committee, said ~US$200 bn was spent on national infrastructure over a decade; the specific cost of stadiums was only ~US$6.5-7 bn.
The Sakhir circuit is owned by the government of Bahrain; the annual hosting fee is reported by specialist outlets at around US$45 m (journalistic figures, confidential contract).
The Yas Marina circuit belongs to the government of Abu Dhabi (via state entities Aldar/Miral); the annual fee is reported at around US$40-42 m (journalistic estimate).
LIV Golf, financed by the Saudi sovereign wealth fund PIF, debuted on 9 June 2022 at the Centurion Club near London; the inaugural season had US$255 m in prize money and Saudi Arabia is said to have already invested more than US$5 bn in the league.
The Jeddah GP, promoted by a Saudi state federation and linked to Vision 2030, is reported with an annual fee of ~US$55 m (with reports of a range up to US$90 m); a journalistic figure.
Qatar signed a 10-year contract (2023-2032) in September 2021 to host the GP; the annual fee is reported as one of the highest on the calendar, ~US$55 m (the contract is official, the figure is journalistic).
The tri-national bid (United Bid) beat Morocco 134 to 65 at the FIFA Congress in Moscow; the first World Cup with three host countries and 48 teams.
Beijing was chosen on 31 July 2015 (IOC session in Kuala Lumpur), becoming the first city to host both Summer and Winter Games; China declared an official budget of ~US$3.9 bn, but independent estimates (Financial Times) reach ~US$8.8 bn.
Sochi 2014 is widely reported as the most expensive Olympics in history (~US$51 bn, including regional infrastructure); the Oxford Olympics Study measures the sports-related cost at US$21.9 bn, with an overrun of 289%.
Russia won the FIFA Executive Committee vote to host the 2018 World Cup, announced in the same session that awarded 2022 to Qatar.
Qatar was chosen to host the 2022 World Cup on 2 December 2010 in Zurich, beating the USA in the final round of FIFA's vote.
Rio was chosen as host on 2 October 2009 at the IOC session in Copenhagen; the Oxford Olympics Study puts the sports-related cost at US$4.6 bn (51% overrun), with the total including infrastructure reported at around US$13 bn.
The Oxford Olympics Study puts the sports-related cost of Beijing 2008 at US$6.8 bn (2015) with an overrun of only ~2%; the total spend including urban infrastructure is reported at ~US$40 bn, but is disputed.
In June 2026 Emirates and Real Madrid renewed for five years, until 2031, with a value reported close to €100 million per year, cited as a record shirt sponsorship in European football.
Ooredoo (a state-controlled Qatari telecom) renewed in November 2025 its sponsorship of the Qatar Football Association as the official telecommunications sponsor of the Qatari national team for three more years, in a relationship of more than 25 years.
In 2023 Emirates and Arsenal renewed shirt and naming rights until 2028, with a value reported above £60 million per year from the 2024/25 season, up from around £40 million a year in the previous deal.
Emirates has been the front-of-shirt sponsor of Real Madrid since 2013; the value of the previous contract was reported by industry outlets at around €70 million per year, but without a firm official confirmation.
Emirates was a Global Partner of Formula 1 from 2013 to 2022 (renewed in 2018 until the end of 2022), later replaced by Qatar Airways; the value of the deal is not officially disclosed.
In 2011 Etihad Airways (a state-owned Abu Dhabi company) closed a 10-year deal with Manchester City reported at £400 million covering stadium naming (Etihad Stadium), shirt sponsorship and the Etihad Campus; the value was questioned by rivals as above market price.
In July 2011 it was announced that Manchester City's training ground and headquarters would be renamed Etihad Campus, with Etihad paying sponsorship to the club for ten years.
Emirates has been the main shirt sponsor of Milan since the 2010/11 season (partnership with the club since 2007), renewed successively, including in 2022 and 2025; annual figures have no firm official confirmation.
In 2006 Emirates closed a deal with Arsenal for the stadium naming rights (Emirates Stadium) for 15 years and shirt sponsorship for 8 years, in a combined package of £100 million, then the largest club sponsorship deal in English football.
Emirates was the shirt sponsor of Paris Saint-Germain from 2006 until the end of the 2018/19 season, when it was replaced by Accor; the value of the contract is not publicly confirmed.
Ooredoo lists Paris Saint-Germain (a club with Qatari ownership via QSI) among its sports sponsorships; the year and value of the deal were not confirmed with precision in this check.
Qatar won the 2019 AFC Asian Cup with a squad made up largely of foreign-born players developed at the Aspire Academy, part of the state project to build a competitive national team before hosting the 2022 World Cup.
Almoez Ali, born in Khartoum, Sudan, on 19 August 1996 and developed at the Aspire Academy, was the top scorer of the 2019 AFC Asian Cup with a record nine goals for Qatar.
Bassam Al-Rawi, born in Baghdad, Iraq, on 16 December 1997 and developed at the Aspire Academy, was part of the Qatari squad that won the 2019 AFC Asian Cup and was named to the tournament's team of the tournament.
Boualem Khoukhi, born and raised in Algeria on 7 September 1990, received Qatari citizenship and was part of the team that won the 2019 AFC Asian Cup.
Salwa Eid Naser, born Ebelechukwu Antoinette Agbapuonwu in Onitsha, Nigeria, on 23 May 1998, began competing for Bahrain in 2014 and won the 400m at the 2019 Doha World Championships in 48.14s.
Ruth Jebet, born and raised in Kenya, transferred her eligibility to Bahrain in February 2013 and won at the 2016 Rio Games the first Olympic gold in the country's history, in the 3000m steeplechase.
About half of Azerbaijan's delegation at the 2016 Rio Games consisted of foreign-born, naturalized athletes, concentrated in disciplines such as wrestling, boxing and taekwondo.
The Ukrainian Mariya Stadnik was recruited by Azerbaijan's wrestling federation in 2007 and won a silver medal in women's 48kg wrestling for the country at the 2016 Rio Games.
Hosting the 2015 World Handball Championship, Qatar reached the final (a 25-22 loss to France) with a squad made up mostly of naturalized foreign-born players, such as the Frenchman Bertrand Roiné and the Spaniard Borja Vidal.
The Kenyan Stephen Cherono switched his sporting nationality to Qatar in 2003, adopted the name Saif Saaeed Shaheen and, days later, won the 3000m steeplechase at the Paris World Championships, ending a run of six Kenyan titles in the event.
The Map counts the strategy (the purchase, the hosting, the sponsorship, the naturalization), which is public fact. It does not assert the outcome: whether that investment actually bought admiration, shifted perceptions or "generated soft power" is contested interpretation that International Relations scholarship cannot measure in any replicable way. That reading lives in the analysis, always declared as interpretation. Down here, only what can be checked.
The entire Map is public and downloadable. Use it, cite it, challenge it. Open methodology is the opposite of closed-PDF rankings.
The Map is the map; the newsletter is where I read the map. Every week, free.