A new Netflix series on Saudi football features packed stadiums and top-flight talent, but whether it can curb criticism of Riyadh’s bid to host World Cup 2034 is an open question.
The six-episode “Saudi Pro League: Kickoff” debuted just three weeks before the FIFA Congress is set to formally approve Saudi Arabia — the sole candidate — as host of the quadrennial spectacle.
The vote on Wednesday will be a crowning moment for de facto ruler Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s use of sport to amass influence and improve the Gulf kingdom’s global image.
Football has been at the heart of that effort, and the Netflix series depicts how the Saudi Pro League has been transformed by the arrival of global stars like Cristiano Ronaldo, Neymar and Karim Benzema — all of whom get ample screen time.
The show also seeks to highlight what one commentator describes as Saudi Arabia’s “historic passion for football” — clubs founded nearly a century ago, and rivalries dating back nearly that long.
In one scene, 17-year-old Saudi Talal Haji, a forward for Ittihad, walks with a friend through the old city of Jeddah.
Wearing a thobe, the white robes donned by Saudi men, he reflects on how the country is changing.
“I am very proud of how my future looks,” he says, predicting he will play in the World Cup on his home soil a decade from now.
“The main accomplishment of the series is that it’s kind of humanising Saudi football,” said Danyel Reiche of Georgetown University in Qatar, who researches the intersection of politics and sport in the region.
“Because so far, I think people all over the globe, they were just thinking about dollar signs
