Business of Sport
Meet the US Trader Who Bought a Saudi Football Club
The kingdom wants to make its league a global brand. Trader and investor Ben Harburg is the first non-Saudi owner of a club.
Ben Harburg in Hong Kong, in 2024.
Photographer: Graham Uden/FORTUNE/ShutterstockBen Harburg celebrated after his football team, Al Kholood, won a seven-goal thriller to make the semi-finals of the King’s Cup knockout competition for the first time.
It was the sort of moment that Saudi Arabian football had coveted: The first foreign owner of a team in the kingdom celebrating a milestone as the Saudi Pro League seeks global recognition. The sport is a key pillar of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s vision to modernize the country as it prepares to host the World Cup in 2034.