Saudi season kicks off after big-money revolution
The Saudi Pro League kicks off on Friday amid unprecedented attention on Saudi football following a year of high-profile transfers. The arrival of Cristiano Ronaldo in January to play for the Riyadh-based Al-Nassr is what first drew global attention to ongoing efforts to boost the Saudi Pro League. Since then, clubs in the oil-rich Gulf state have lured celebrity players, rising stars and top coaches with offers of eye-watering salaries.  "Saudi Arabia aspires to be like the English Premier League," said Simon Chadwick, professor of Sport and Geopolitical Economy at Skema Business School in Paris. "The media is paying attention." However, the kingdom still faces a series of challenges before it rises to the helm of global football, said Egyptian sports journalist and TV host Amir Abd Elhalim. "There are challenges at all levels," he said, including respecting the contracts and entitlements of new players. Last month, Fifa hit Al Nassr with a transfer ban, blocking the club from registering new players. It was issued after Al Nassr failed to make a payment of £390,000 (US$500,000) to Leicester City for the 2018 transfer of Nigeria striker Ahmed Musa. Chadwick, the professor, said that Saudi football is still "very much a work in progress". "We're probably looking at the next five to ten years before determining whether there is a long-term sustainable and fundamental change," the expert added. One test, he said, will be Saudi clubs' performances in the Asian Champions League. A second test will be the extent to which the Saudi Pro League can sustain long-term engagement from football fans, who fly from all the world to watch the English Premier League. "Is it going to be the same in Saudi Arabia?" Chadwick asked. "Are we going to see Chinese tourists heading to Riyadh or are we going to see German tourists heading together to watch football?" (AFP)