22 June 2023 , 12:51
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Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund is exploring a deal to take over the naming rights for cycling’s number one team from next year.
The Dutch team currently known as Jumbo-Visma is looking for a new title sponsor after being told that the supermarket chain Jumbo will not be renewing its agreement.
And that has led to NEOM City, a $500bn investment led by PIF as part of Saudi’s Vision 2030 project, holding talks about making its first significant step into the sport.
Several other states hold naming rights in cycling - including UAE Team Emirates, who count Slovenian superstar Tadej Pogacar in their ranks, and the less successful Team Bahrain Victorious and Team Israel Premier Tech.
Jumbo-Visma’s managing director Richard Plugge denied that a deal is lined up but admitted that he is not involved in the day-to-day search for a new sponsor. Plugge is preparing for the Tour de France, which starts on July 1, as star rider Jonas Vingegaard aims to retain the yellow jersey he won last summer. The team’s other grand tour leader, Primoz Roglic, won last month’s Giro d’Italia.
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“Their interest in sponsoring our team is new to me,” Plugge told Wielerflits. “It is possible that one of our contact persons or agencies that we have engaged to find a new sponsor for us is in contact with this party. We get an update from them every so often. We are currently in serious talks with several international parties, but there is nothing concrete yet.”
The development comes in the middle of a sustained recruitment drive in football where a host of big-name players are being attracted to clubs in the Saudi Pro League who have recently been taken over by PIF.
Hakim Ziyech is set to move to Saudi Arabia from Chelsea this summer. (Getty Images)Chelsea, whose majority owners have unrelated investment interests with PIF, are in the process of saying farewell to four members of last season’s squad (N’Golo Kante, Edouard Mendy, Kalidou Koulibaly and Hakim Ziyech), while Wolves are selling midfielder Ruben Neves to Al Hilal in a £47million deal - despite interest from Newcastle United, who are also majority owned by PIF. Last year’s Ballon d’Or winner, Karim Benzema, will formally join Al-Ittihad on July 1 from Real Madrid.
But the Pro League’s big spending has led to criticism and concern, with former Manchester United star turned TV pundit Gary Neville has gone as far as calling for the Premier League to place an embargo on sales to Saudi.
Earlier this month PIF completed a remarkable deal that would see golf’s PGA Tour and their controversial breakaway LIV series merged, blindsiding a number of stars such as Rory McIlroy who had previously been critical of their intentions.