BarcelonaThis week, the 9/11 Victims’ Group, made up of both survivors of the World Trade Center attacks and relatives of those who lost their lives, held a press conference against a golf tournament which is due soon in New Jersey. One more proof, in case anyone still doubted it, that sport and politics always go together.
Golf is experiencing a real revolution after the birth of a new tournament circuit that is trying to break the monopoly of the PGA. Some players have been seduced by this new circuit that promises to give players more and bets on a modern image. A facade: the money is Saudi. After years in lockdown, the kingdom of Saudi Arabia is mimicking its neighbors in the area by using sport to project a particular image abroad. The idea is for foreigners to think that it is a modernizing state, with a nice image, when inside it remains a dictatorship. The Saudis have so much money that they can bring Lionel Messi 24 hours to their country to act as a tourism ambassador. And they find traveling companions ready to accept their money in exchange for hiding their ideals in a drawer, like Gerard Piqué and Luis Rubiales with the Super Cup. Others, directly, have never had ideals, like the partner who helps them organize the New Jersey golf tournament: Donald Trump.
Relatives of the victims of 9/11 remember that the Saudi government played a very dark role in those attacks. And that a tournament organized by this state takes place on the doorstep of New York (more than 700 people killed in the attacks lived in New Jersey) has hurt them. With sports, you should always heed the famous line that CIA confidant told reporter Bob Woodward in the Watergate case: “Follow the money trail.” And you see the Saudis organizing a golf tournament that is sold as a positive revolution, the Spanish Super Cup, the Qatar World Cup and the owners of PSG or some English clubs. That’s also why it’s funny that now some English clubs seem scandalized by the money that Barça spends. We can debate whether Laporta’s strategy, to build a good team to generate profits and raise a Barça in crisis, is dangerous in the economic sphere, but criticism can never come from those who are behind Persian Gulf governments or clubs like Chelsea, where the Russian tycoon Roman Abramovich has ruled for so long. You must always follow the money trail, know who is paying for the party and for what reason.
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