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GENEVA — Saudi Arabia's growing influence and massive spending in global sports have been detailed in research ahead of the kingdom being confirmed by FIFA next week as the 2034 World Cup host. The report was published by Play The Game which is a publicly funded sports ethics institute in Denmark. It traced more than 900 sponsor deals and a network of officials with overlapping state, business and sports roles. The $925 billion Saudi sovereign wealth fund is key to the sports project. Play The Game cites risks to good sports governance and a strategy to distract from Saudi's human rights record.
