This report examines the journey of Saudi sports clubs in executing the Governance Initiative launched by the Ministry of Sports in 2019, as well as the progress made so far and the challenges and opportunities that still prevail.

We begin with an overview of sports in Saudi Arabia, focusing on the sports clubs in the Kingdom and the government’s support strategy prioritising them. We then delve into how the governance of sports clubs in Saudi Arabia works and how clubs in the Kingdom are benefitting, as well as the progress they have made so far since they started to adopt the Governance Initiative in 2019.

Based on desk research and benchmarking and through interviews that we conducted with some Saudi sports clubs and Strategic Gears’ long-term engagement with the clubs since 2019, we then highlight the opportunities and challenges and conclude with future recommendations.

The report was drafted by the research and consulting team at Strategic Gears. We wish to express our particular thanks to the following clubs that participated in workshops with us and contributed to the production of this report.