
eBook - ePub
Engulfed
How Saudi Arabia Bought Sport, and the World: SHORTLISTED FOR THE WILLIAM HILL SPORTS BOOK OF THE YEAR AWARD 2025
- 320 pages
- English
- ePUB (mobile friendly)
- Available on iOS & Android
eBook - ePub
Engulfed
How Saudi Arabia Bought Sport, and the World: SHORTLISTED FOR THE WILLIAM HILL SPORTS BOOK OF THE YEAR AWARD 2025
About this book
SHORTLISTED FOR THE 2025 WILLIAM HILL SPORTS BOOK OF THE YEAR
'Bravura on the ground reporting' - David Goldblatt, award-winning author of The Ball is Round
'This is an important book' - Simon Kuper, bestselling author of Soccernomics, Chums and Barça
'Compelling' - The Times
'A subtle examination of the complex interplay between global ambition, economic power, and ethical considerations' - MoneyWeek
'A comprehensive and shocking account' - When Saturday Comes
_________
In 2034, Saudi Arabia will host the men's FIFA World Cup and mark the culmination of Mohammed bin Salman's ambitious plan to modernise Saudi Arabia, a kingdom of unfathomable wealth at the heart of the Islamic world, which is only now emerging from nearly a century of self-isolation. How did we get here? Why would a country spend tens of billions of dollars, perhaps even hundreds of billions in the long run, to buy and control sport?
Engulfed is a story about ambition, family rivalries, extreme wealth, power, murder and disinformation. It is also the story of dictatorship, political corruption and, at its root, how sport - football, yes, but also golf, boxing and even e-sports - became a vital geopolitical tool for Saudi Arabia.
Drawing on Montague's exclusive first-hand interviews from his extensive travels across Saudi Arabia, the US, the north-east of England, Spain, Turkey and beyond, Engulfed uncovers how the House of Saud zeroed in on the political power of sport, using it both as a powerful political tool of influence and as a way to rectify the PR damage caused by one of the most infamous assassinations in history: the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi.
'Bravura on the ground reporting' - David Goldblatt, award-winning author of The Ball is Round
'This is an important book' - Simon Kuper, bestselling author of Soccernomics, Chums and Barça
'Compelling' - The Times
'A subtle examination of the complex interplay between global ambition, economic power, and ethical considerations' - MoneyWeek
'A comprehensive and shocking account' - When Saturday Comes
_________
In 2034, Saudi Arabia will host the men's FIFA World Cup and mark the culmination of Mohammed bin Salman's ambitious plan to modernise Saudi Arabia, a kingdom of unfathomable wealth at the heart of the Islamic world, which is only now emerging from nearly a century of self-isolation. How did we get here? Why would a country spend tens of billions of dollars, perhaps even hundreds of billions in the long run, to buy and control sport?
Engulfed is a story about ambition, family rivalries, extreme wealth, power, murder and disinformation. It is also the story of dictatorship, political corruption and, at its root, how sport - football, yes, but also golf, boxing and even e-sports - became a vital geopolitical tool for Saudi Arabia.
Drawing on Montague's exclusive first-hand interviews from his extensive travels across Saudi Arabia, the US, the north-east of England, Spain, Turkey and beyond, Engulfed uncovers how the House of Saud zeroed in on the political power of sport, using it both as a powerful political tool of influence and as a way to rectify the PR damage caused by one of the most infamous assassinations in history: the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi.
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Please note we cannot support devices running on iOS 13 and Android 7 or earlier. Learn more about using the app.
Yes, you can access Engulfed by James Montague in PDF and/or ePUB format, as well as other popular books in Social Sciences & Sociology. We have over one million books available in our catalogue for you to explore.
Information
Table of contents
- Cover
- Half Title
- Title Page
- Copyright
- Dedication
- Epigraph
- About the Author
- Contents
- Map
- Introduction
- 1. Cathedral on the Hill
- 2. The Prince
- 3. Power and Attraction
- 4. The Opposition
- 5. His Excellency
- 6. The Project
- 7. A Lost Tribe
- 8. Capitol
- 9. Virtual Reality
- 10. Match Days
- Acknowledgements
- Endnotes