Kicking up a $10bn sporting storm

Sports fansususmbs have seen plenty of surprises this summer. Carlos Alcaraz won Wimbledon, ending years of domination of tennis by the trio of Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal. In golf the victors of the Open and Britain’s Open were outsiders who were given odds of winning of 1% or less. On August 6th the all-conquering women’s football team crashed out of the World Cup after Sweden scored a winning penalty. The ball crossed the goal line by only a few millimetres.Yet the biggest shock has been off the field, as Saudi Arabia has barged into the . Pumped up on petrodollars and desperate to reinvent itself under Muhammad bin Salman (), its 37-year-old de facto ruler, it has spent $10bn on players, teams and leagues, upending golf and football. That has upset Western fans, activists and politicians, who see it as “sportswashing” human-rights abuses, and complain about the desecration of the hallowed trophies of sport.