RIYADH, SAUDI ARABIA – DECEMBER 19: Mohammed Khalid “Trk511” Alotaibi representing Saudi Arabia reacts after loosing the Finals of the FIFAe World Cup featuring Rocket League: Day 4 on December 19, 2025 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. (Photo by Shane Anthony Sinclair – FIFA/FIFA via Getty Images)
FIFA via Getty Images
Amid ongoing military conflict in the Arabian Gulf, the inaugural edition of Saudi Arabia’s staging of its new Esports Nations Cup has been postponed to 2027.
The new event was set to join the Kingdom’s other showcase esports event – the Esports World Cup – on the sporting calendar, though earlier this year, for the same reason, its staging was relocated to Paris.
Though officials in Saudi Arabia have claimed that taking the event overseas was always part of their plan, the switch to France’s capital came much earlier than expected.
Disruption to both events is a blow to the country’s ambitions, undermining attempts to diversify its economy away from dependence on oil and gas, which makes the country vulnerable to energy market shocks.
Diversifying away from oil and gas
Saudi government revenues lean heavily on oil, accounting for more than 50% of total government revenues.
However, events such as the Esports World Cup have been helping to address the problems inherent within this.
The 2025 edition attracted 3,000,000 visitors, of whom 300,000 were international, marking a 7.4% year-on-year increase in foreign summer visitors.
This represents an important contribution to Saudi Arabia’s National Gaming and Esports Strategy, which is expected to add $13.3 billion to the Kingdom’s non-oil GDP by 2030.
Although changes to these two events are significant, Saudi Arabia has nevertheless continued to invest in esports assets as it seeks to build greater industrial resilience.
Over the summer, the country’s sovereign wealth fund – the Public Investment Fund (PIF) – finalised its acquisition of game producer Electronic Arts, which has become the world’s biggest ever leveraged corporate buyout.
PIF, through one of its subsidiaries – Alat – is also collaborating with Lenovo (an Esports World Cup sponsor) to build a large new computer hardware manufacturing facility near Riyadh.
Security threats posing risks to Gulf sport
Creation of such an ecosystem is fundamental to the development and resilience of Saudi Arabia’s non-fossil fuel economy, though even such ecosystems have vulnerabilities, as Iran-backed Houthi attacks showed back in 2022.
During race weekend, missiles were fired towards the Saudi Arabian F1 Grand Prix in Jeddah, striking an oil installation adjacent to the circuit.
Such were the security concerns that drivers, including Lewis Hamilton, held an emergency meeting, the outcome of which was a demand that the race be cancelled (although it ultimately went ahead).
Earlier this year, as military conflict between the U.S. and Iran intensified, this season’s F1 races in Saudi Arabia and neighbouring Bahrain were cancelled.
It remains to be seen whether the Jeddah race will take place later in the year, although Malaysia has stepped in to replace Bahrain, a major concern for the government in Manama.
The F1 calendar is already crowded, and competition for slots is intense; hence, it is questionable whether Bahrain will be able to easily reclaim its position in the championship and stage a race that has been running since 2004.
In the meantime, construction continues at a site just outside Riyadh, where the Qiddiya Speed Park is being built at a cost of $500 million, which is intended to host the Kingdom’s F1 race in 2028.
Part of a much bigger, multibillion-dollar entertainment, sports, and cultural megacity, the F1 circuit will be a trophy asset, albeit one vulnerable to drone or missile attacks.
Qatar in a precarious position
Fingers will remain firmly crossed in Qatar, following the news that F1 still intends for its Lusail circuit to host its Grand Prix at the end of November this year.
Qatar has arguably suffered more than any other Gulf nation this year, at least in sporting terms.
For instance, 2026’s “Finalissima” soccer match between Argentina (Copa América champions) and Spain (European champions) was cancelled.
Government officials in Doha will be looking ahead with some trepidation to 2027, especially the country’s hosting of the FIBA Basketball World Cup.
Qatar’s economy is even more dependent on oil and gas than Saudi Arabia’s, with up to 70% of government revenues derived from fossil fuels and almost 40% of GDP attributable to the sector.
The closure of the Strait of Hormuz has hit Qatar hard, as it’s the only route for oil and gas exports; indeed, government department budgets have already been slashed by 30% while the IMF has forecast that Qatar’s GDP will shrink 8.6% this year.
Generating a return on investments in sport is therefore imperative, although Qatari investments are largely event-based and thus more susceptible to disruption caused by war.
The country’s predicament is a far cry from 2017, when Qatari-owned French soccer club Paris Saint-Germain smashed the world transfer record for player acquisition, signing Brazilian Neymar for $263 million from Barcelona.
It’s little wonder, however, that the French club has been far more modest in its transfer activities this summer, and so too at Newcastle United of the English Premier League, which is owned by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund.
Abu Dhabi has wanted to buck this year’s trend and has also now confirmed that its season-closing F1 race is still going ahead.
The circuit is part of Yas Island – an artificial landmass built specifically to host the track, theme parks, hotels, and a marina – which cost $40 billion to construct and attracted more than 200,000 race attendees in 2025.
The emirate needs a boost, not least from overseas visitors, which suggests the F1 event could be both a championship decider and an acid test for Gulf sport’s future.