Israeli-Linked DAZN Embraces Saudi SURJ Big Investments: Sports Money Fuels Netanyahu, Flattens Gaza

While innocent civilians in Gaza are being bombed and the besieged Strip is reduced to rubble, some Middle Eastern regimes have chosen not to side with the victims of aggression, but instead to deepen partnerships with those funding the Israeli Occupation.

In a move that highlights the stark contrast between public image and hidden interests, Saudi Arabia, through its sports investment arm SURJ, announced a major investment in the UK-based streaming network DAZN.

DAZN is owned by American Jewish billionaire Leonard Blavatnik, a key backer of the Israeli Occupation through his vast political, financial, and media influence—especially since the war on Gaza erupted on October 7, 2023.

Inside the Deal

Though the deal was promoted as a leap forward in sports broadcasting, a closer look at the financial and management ties reveals a complex web of interests linked to the Israeli Occupation and Blavatnik’s role in both the war on Gaza and efforts to suppress global solidarity with Palestinians.

These ties prompted investigations into the alliance between UK-based DAZN and Saudi-owned SURJ, which has become a strategic partner in a platform led by some of the most pro-Israel figures in global sports media.

On July 15, 2025, the independent Arab fact-checking outlet Saheeh Masr published details about the partnership between SURJ (a subsidiary of Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund) and DAZN.

The report noted that during the FIFA Club World Cup (June 14 – July 13, 2025), many audiences across the Arab world were surprised by the emergence of DAZN—a relatively unknown sports streaming service in the region—which quickly gained popularity for its high-quality broadcasts.

But behind that polished feed stood a tangled network of interests connecting a pro-”Israel” billionaire with a state-backed Saudi investment firm.

Just four months before the tournament, Saudi Arabia had announced a $1 billion investment by SURJ into DAZN—an agreement that went beyond funding to include the creation of a regional branch for the platform in the Middle East and North Africa.

As part of the deal, SURJ acquired over 5% of DAZN’s ownership and secured a stake in a joint venture aimed at expanding the platform’s presence across the Arab world.

What’s ‘Israel’ Got to Do With It?

DAZN is owned by American Jewish billionaire Leonard Blavatnik, one of Britain’s wealthiest businessmen and a longtime financial, media, and political supporter of “Israel”—especially since the October 2023 assault on Gaza.

In 2014, Blavatnik donated $20 million to Tel Aviv University, and in 2021, he funded the creation of five research centers there, including one focused on artificial intelligence and data science.

He also holds a controlling stake in Israel’s Channel 13, once known for its critical stance toward Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. After acquiring it, Blavatnik appointed a pro-Netanyahu management team, turning the channel into a government-aligned platform, prompting protests from its own journalists.

Following the massacres in Gaza, Blavatnik played a deeper role in shaping pro-”Israel” narratives through a private WhatsApp group of wealthy American Jews, which included Jared Kushner (Donald Trump’s son-in-law) and Howard Schultz (Starbucks founder).

This group sought to reshape U.S. media coverage in favor of “Israel,” fund pro-IDF propaganda films, pressure university deans to crack down on pro-Palestinian demonstrations, and provide financial backing to the NYPD to suppress protests at Columbia University.

According to a Washington Post investigation published in May 2024, Blavatnik, despite being a business partner of the Saudi Public Investment Fund, personally offered to pay the salaries of private investigators assisting the NYPD.

An Israeli Businessman

Alongside Leonard Blavatnik, DAZN is led by CEO Shay Segev, an Israeli businessman.

Segev previously headed the UK-based gambling giant Entain, which was forced to pay £585 million in a customs corruption settlement during his tenure.

He has appeared publicly in recent photos with Turki Alalshikh, head of Saudi Arabia’s General Entertainment Authority, as part of the promotion for the “third phase” of the partnership between DAZN and Saudi Arabia.

The deal with Saudi Arabia’s SURJ came at a crucial time for DAZN, which was financially struggling prior to the investment.

In 2023, DAZN lost $1.4 billion, after already posting $1.2 billion in losses the year before. To keep the company afloat, Blavatnik injected $827 million of his own money.

Still, it wasn’t enough. In 2025, DAZN had to secure an additional $1 billion loan, according to Bloomberg.

That’s where the Saudi deal emerged as a potential lifeline for the struggling network, one that many observers see as more than just a sports investment.

Following the deal with SURJ, DAZN won digital broadcasting rights for the FIFA Club World Cup and secured exclusive rights to stream Saudi Pro League matches in Europe, especially in the UK and Germany.

Meanwhile, Saudi-owned MBC obtained satellite broadcasting rights for the Arab world.

A Painful Irony

Saudi Arabia’s partnership with DAZN—owned by a prominent financier of “Israel”—is just one episode in a growing pattern of sports normalization with the Israeli Occupation in the Kingdom.

The move sparked a wave of anger and criticism on social media on July 12, 2023, after Israeli players participated in the FIFAe World Cup hosted by Saudi Arabia. Activists described it as “backdoor normalization” through sports.

The controversy escalated when the Israeli Foreign Ministry posted a video of the Israeli delegation waving the Israeli flag on Saudi soil, an unprecedented scene that raised serious questions about the evolving limits of what’s now allowed in Saudi sports.

In response, the Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel issued a sharply worded statement, condemning the official green light given to a delegation from the Israeli Occupation state to attend an event on the land of the Two Holy Mosques.

It argued that Saudi Arabia should have followed the lead of countries like Indonesia and Malaysia, which had previously refused to host Israeli athletes, out of respect for public sentiment and the dignity of Palestinian victims.

The group added that the real tragedy lies in Riyadh’s submission to what it called “FIFA’s dictates,” even though just months earlier, public pressure in Indonesia had led its football federation to reject hosting the Israeli team in the U-20 World Cup, in solidarity with Palestinians and rejection of normalization.

Saudi Sports Minister Speaks Out

In a formal acknowledgment of the Kingdom’s growing public sports normalization with “Israel,” Saudi Arabia’s Sports Minister, Prince Abdulaziz bin Turki al-Faisal, confirmed that Israeli athletes now regularly participate in international tournaments hosted in Saudi Arabia.

His remarks came during a televised interview with British journalist Piers Morgan on January 31, 2025, where the minister stated plainly that they have no problem with them coming and competing and said some Israeli athletes have played on Saudi soil even during the war on Gaza.

Such participation, he added, has nothing to do with political decisions, stressing that sports should remain separate from politics.

While reaffirming the Saudi government’s official support for the Palestinian cause “at the governmental level,” his comments reflected a lenient stance toward the presence of Israeli athletes in the Kingdom. 

This comes at a time when Israeli airstrikes on Gaza civilians continued, and public anger across the Arab and Muslim world over normalization through sports was intensifying.

Saudi Arabia’s recent investment in DAZN, a media platform owned by one of the Israeli Occupation’s top propaganda financiers, has also cast serious doubt on the minister’s claim of separating sports and politics.

Reflecting a clear Israeli Occupation’s view of regional changes, Israeli Deputy Foreign Minister Sharren Haskel said on July 18, 2025, that the Gulf monarchy needed to “make a decision” on whether to support Palestinian statehood or normalize relations with “Israel.”

Asked whether normalization was possible without “Israel” having to commit to Palestinian statehood, Haskel answered that she “believed so.”