Saudi Arabia unveils 'Nafis' platform to boost private sector investment in sports

Minister of Sports Prince Abdulaziz bin Turki Al-Faisal

Prince Abdulaziz bin Turki Al-Faisal, Minister of Sports and President of the Saudi Arabian Olympic Committee, launched today, June 21, "Nafis" platform to license sport clubs, academies, and private gyms for the first time in the Kingdom. According to a ministry statement, the project, which falls under the Quality of Life program, is aimed to enable the private sector to invest in the sports sector in the Kingdom, and provide opportunities for local and foreign investors to establish and expand clubs, academies and private gyms.

Furthermore, it allows investors to issue licenses through “Nafis” platform to achieve the goals of Vision 2030 and diversify economic resources towards building a healthy society.

In the first phase, the project will include a number of sports, and licenses will be issued according to the type, including basketball, squash, rowing, indoor rowing, gymnastics, judo, taekwondo, karate, jiu-jitsu, wrestling, various martial arts, Equestrian, cycling, football, fencing, tennis, boxing, Muay Thai, kickboxing, windsurfing, swimming, e-sports, chess, shooting and badminton. “The sports sector witnessed in the past few years, unprecedented qualitative leaps, which clearly contributed to the growth of the sector by 170% in the past three years, in addition to the increase in the number of citizens practicing sports regularly by about 19%. The value of the sector increased to SAR 6.5 billion,” the ministry said during a virtual ceremony.

“The platform will be a turning point in the sports industry in the Kingdom, as it provides the opportunity for the private sector to invest in sports, and contribute to its growth and prosperity, by obtaining the necessary licenses to establish clubs, academies and gyms,” Al-Faisal added.