At the same time, by the middle of the season, the first problems began in the Saudi Pro League. Some top players are not satisfied with the attendance, the quality of football and the climate: Benzema, Firmino and Henderson are already considering a return to Europe. However, each news provokes increased attention to the region, which local authorities have been trying to achieve for several years.
Investment in youth
The countries of the Middle East remain among the most economically developed in the world. Saudi Arabia is the first in oil exports, Qatar is the world’s largest seller of liquefied gas. Football is a new vector for the country’s development, which can solve several problems at once: it will attract new investors to the countries and increase media exposure, and increase the flow of tourists.
League leaders are now focusing on developing young talent. In Saudi Arabia, funding for youth football has increased by 162% since 2021. The number of trainers has also increased: over the past five years the number has reached 5,500, of which more than 1,000 are women.
In addition, aggressive league reforms should lead to increased playing time for young Saudi footballers. For the same reason, the age of admission to the main team was lowered to 16 years. And next season, each club must register one Saudi player born in 1998 or later.
Other countries in the Middle East are also investing in the development of sports academies. For example, Qatar has opened the Aspire Academy in Doha, which offers world-class training facilities to young athletes. In parallel, the UAE launched the Emirates Sports Academy for sports administrators, coaches and players.
Minimum transfer restrictions: they even want to soften the limit on foreign players
In the summer, the Saudi Pro League spent almost a billion dollars on transfers, second only to the Premier League in terms of this indicator. However, if the leaders of the English league must adhere to fair play rules and cannot offer their stars astronomical salaries, then in the Middle East such an opportunity exists: in the leagues there are simply no transfer restrictions or salary caps for players.
The fact that there is no ban on owning multiple clubs in the same league has an impact. So, this summer, four of the strongest clubs came under the control of PIF — a public investment fund created to attract private financial investment and provide teams with almost unlimited opportunities.
Something similar has existed before in the form of the 2016 Chinese Super League. However, in Saudi Arabia, the transfer system looks clearer. This was partly influenced by the clubs’ not always considered spending during the summer transfer window: not all acquired players were able to promote the state’s brand in the right direction. Therefore, in winter, leading clubs will be able to buy players only at their own expense.
At the same time, PIF does not refuse to finance teams: it’s just that now all transitions will be coordinated with the fund. On the one hand, this approach will minimize possible image damage and focus on the development of young players. On the other hand, the reason for this restriction may be preparation for the next summer purchase: teams are already looking at Mohamed Salah and Casemiro.
In addition, according to The Telegraph, the Pro League management is already discussing the issue of changing the limit on foreign players starting from the 2024/25 season: then clubs will be able to enter not eight, but ten foreign players into their applications.
Cooperation with leagues around the world and high comfort
The necessary infrastructure is also developing rapidly. After the World Cup, Qatar received new stadiums. Each of them hosts matches of the Asian Cup moved from China. And Saudi Arabia, in fact, has already won the right to host the World Cup in 2034: therefore, the country is going to reconstruct the largest stadiums.
In addition, club tournaments are held in the countries of the Middle East. The UAE hosted the Club World Cup five times, the tournament was held twice in Qatar and once in Saudi Arabia. The latter, in addition, received the rights to host the Italian and Spanish Super Cups until the 2028/2029 season. Abu Dhabi is the home of Winline RPL Winter Cup
They are also trying to keep up in the UAE, which has long become a familiar place not only for pre-season training camps for top clubs from around the world. Friendly tournaments are also held here, which disrupt the measured life of the training camp.
For example, Abu Dhabi will host the Winline Winter RPL Cup for the second time in a row — the main tournament of the Russian off-season, which received international status this year. Four teams will traditionally take part in the Cup, and the matches will take place from February 2 to 14 at the Al Nahyan Stadium, the home arena of the Al Wahda club.
This year, in addition to rivals from Kazakhstan and the UAE, the tournament will receive greater media support. Every day, fans will be treated to exclusive content from the scene, created not only by players and coaches, but also by commentators, comedians and bloggers. And on one of the Winline days of the RPL Winter Cup, football players, with the support of streamers, participate in a CS 2 cyber tournament.
In general, leading Russian clubs prefer to hold training camps in the UAE and Qatar. The necessary infrastructure in these countries (fields, hotels, fitness) is of better quality and more comfortable than in Turkey. In addition, finding opponents for test matches has become much easier: the Emirates are interested in attracting the Russian money market, and the league’s leading clubs are flexible in negotiations. This year, as part of the tournament, Spartak and Rostov will meet with Al-Shabab from the UAE.