Why the Saudi Pro League Project is Different to the Failed Chinese Football Experiment
The Saudi Pro League has disrupted world football with unprecedented spending in acquiring top-class and household names in football.
The flow of major talent from European football to the Middle East has been likened to the Chinese plans to take over world football as crystallized by the 50-point plan issued back in 2015.
Fast forward to today, the marquee names have left China, and the league has not dominated the world. In fact, the Chinese attempt has been dubbed a flop. The fate of the Chinese project has led many to speculate that the Saudi Pro League project will meet the same fate.
However, the two projects have one major difference that sets them worlds apart – there is passion and love for the sport in Saudi Arabia. Young people in Saudi Arabia are enamored by the household names like Ronaldo, Benzema, and Mohammed Salah.
The passion within Saudi Arabia provides the basis upon which the Saudi Pro League is built and highlights why it will be sustainable and succeed where the Chinese one failed.
