Turki Al al-Sheikh's Bid to Transfer the Egyptian League to Saudi Arabia: What Are His Goals?

Turki Al al-Sheikh, head of the current Chairman of the General Entertainment Authority of Saudi Arabia, has returned to intervene in Egyptian football affairs once again after years of corrupting them with bribery and creating animosities between clubs.

He officially announced a financial offer to host matches for the two largest Egyptian clubs (Al-Ahly and Zamalek) in the Egyptian League in the kingdom as part of the Saudi entertainment plans.

This move has been interpreted by sports professionals and activists as an attempt to purchase the Egyptian league itself for the entertainment of Saudis, while depriving Egyptians of their own show.

Turki Al al-Sheikh's funds to the two clubs, the Football Association and all Egyptian clubs, have quickly turned into a source of contention among Egyptian sports officials, with disputes arising between those in favor of the offer for the "cash" and those against it to avoid depriving the Egyptian audience of their teams and selling out Egyptian sports for a handful of millions.

Turki Al al-Sheikh, in his role as an advisor to Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, previously made inroads into Egyptian society by leveraging the realms of sports and later, the arts, with a focus on enticing players, sports administrators, and artists.

Back in 2018, during his tenure as the president of the General Sports Authority in Saudi Arabia, he opted for a definitive disengagement from sports investments in Egypt. Hence, his recent reemergence in the Egyptian football arena has sparked inquiries into the underlying motives and its connection to entertainment.

What's Happening?

The story began with the revelation by Ahmed Diab, president of the Egyptian Football Association, in early April 2024 of details of a unique Saudi offer for Egypt's football giants, Al-Ahly and Zamalek, to play their matches in the league this year in Saudi Arabia.

"We are still considering and negotiating the offer, and we will reach a final decision within 48 hours," Diab stated on TV, indicating "financial returns for both sides of the match in hundreds of millions [pounds] and another amount in millions for the rest of the league clubs." 

Al-Ahly announced in a statement on April 3, 2024, its preliminary agreement to play the match in the kingdom while simultaneously stating that it is "not responsible for determining the dates and stadiums where the matches are held."

Zamalek also sent a letter to the Football Association approving the match against Al-Ahly in Saudi Arabia.

"This is a matter for the Football Association as the entity responsible for organizing and managing competitions in a manner that is in the best interests of Egyptian football. As long as what is seen in this matter serves the public good, the club does not object to it," Al-Ahly's statement.

Ahmed Hassan, former star of Al-Ahly and the Egyptian national team, revealed a legal clause that threatens the holding of the match between Al-Ahly and Zamalek in Saudi Arabia.

He told al-Masry al-Youm newspaper on April 3, 2024, that "official approval must be obtained from FIFA and CAF to hold Al-Ahly and Zamalek match outside Egypt, as there are associations in Europe that also requested to hold matches outside their countries and were rejected," since "allowing local matches outside the country will open the door for all countries."

Egyptians have criticized Saudi Arabia's control over Egyptian sports and arts activities, with the latest being the Egyptian League matches between Zamalek and Al-Ahly, questioning the reason behind spending "millions" to move matches to the kingdom and whether it is for the entertainment of the Saudi people.

Soccer Stir

As sports analysts, including Khaled Bauomy, declared their rejection of holding the Zamalek–Al-Ahly derby outside Egypt, Turki Al al-Sheikh, the advisor, stirred up his allies in the Egyptian sports and media circles to criticize this move.

Sports commentator Medhat Shalaby, who is close to Turki Al al-Sheikh, took on this task, launching a strong attack on Bauomy, arguing that the millions that Egyptian clubs will receive "will contribute in one way or another to the development of football in Egyptian clubs."

Medhat Shalaby wrote on Facebook saying: "Oh, Khaled, if you had been tasked with any sports work inside the Kingdom, you would completely change your mind," implying that he has not tasted the Saudi rice (Saudi money).

He sharply criticized him, saying: "Leave it to you and some others who claim false perfection from launching catchy slogans and appealing to emotions that only express the weakness of souls."

Turki Al al-Sheikh expressed his satisfaction with Medhat Shalaby's response to Khalid Bauomy and anyone else who opposes holding matches between Al-Ahly and Zamalek in Saudi Arabia by sharing what was said.

The matter has turned into a battle between advocates of nationalism and holding matches in Egypt and those who seek to please Turki Al al-Sheikh and gain a share of the cake he will distribute. Egyptians defended Khaled Bauomy and criticized Saudi intervention in Egyptian football affairs once again.

Turki Al al-Sheikh previously hosted a match between Al-Ahly and Zamalek in Saudi Arabia on March 8, 2024, for the Egyptian Cup, depriving Egyptian fans of attending the match and exploiting it for a financial sports event as a form of entertainment for Saudis.

It seems that al-Sheikh's dream of taking over the Egyptian league to entertain the Saudi people might ultimately fail. Zamalek rejected the idea, and Ahmed Salem, the club's official spokesperson, announced via Facebook that the team's match against Al-Ahly would take place at Cairo Stadium in Egypt, not Saudi Arabia.

This prompted Turki Al al-Sheikh to respond via Facebook, revealing that FIFA had refused to play any league matches outside the continent, stating that the transfer of Egyptian matches to Saudi Arabia had not been completed yet.

Turki Al al-Sheikh also told the Egyptian channel, OnTime Sports, that "the decision to hold the matches between Al-Ahly and Zamalek in Saudi Arabia has been canceled because FIFA does not allow league matches to be played outside the continent except for emergency situations."

The Chairman of the Board of the General Entertainment Authority also said that "Egyptian sports officials have contacted FIFA to allow the matches to be held in Saudi Arabia, but the likelihood of receiving a positive response is very low."

Why Now?

Turki Al al-Sheikh played a significant role in intervening in Egyptian sports since 2018 when he was responsible for sports in Saudi Arabia, by injecting money into Al-Ahly and Zamalek clubs, buying an entire club, and pouring "rice" quantities into sports media to praise him.

According to Egyptian media professionals speaking to Al-Estiklal, the financial setbacks experienced by the Egyptian regime's media outlets directly led to the acceptance of Saudi investment in Egyptian media through al-Sheikh, who has now emerged as a key figure in entertainment for the Crown Prince, bin Salman.

They explained that upon assuming the role of head of the sports authority, al-Sheikh began meddling in Egyptian sports, resulting in disruptions to the Egyptian league. Later, when he transitioned to head the entertainment authority, his interference extended to Egyptian arts as well.

The failure of United Media Services (UMS), affiliated with Egyptian intelligence, to manage this file and its incurring significant financial losses despite monopolizing the market explains the reasons for the changes in the leadership of the intelligence company on May 29, 2021, to satisfy al-Sheikh, and prepare for new Saudi owners to buy shares offered for sale.

However, what angered the official Cairo government was al-Sheikh's lack of response to these Egyptian steps, his refusal to purchase the offered shares, and his obstruction of plans to complete the intelligence's dominance over the entire media and drama system in Egypt.

Instead, Turki Al al-Sheikh poured millions, and perhaps billions, of Saudi riyals on Egyptian artists and media figures. He also hosted them at festivals in the kingdom and granted some of them citizenship to use them in promoting the "new Saudi Arabia."

The relationship between Sisi and Turki Al al-Sheikh extends beyond the 2013 coup directly. The Saudi advisor previously published numerous friendly photos with the Egyptian regime's president over the past years.

Sisi received al-Sheikh several times, sometimes as the head of the General Sports Authority and sometimes as the head of the General Entertainment Authority and a consultant to the Royal Court. Friendly meetings between Saudi and Emirati officials also took place.

Sports analysts believe that Turki Al al-Sheikh aims to intervene in Egyptian sports again with these recent steps, given the current Saudi policy of investing in sports and buying players to revitalize the Saudi league. Others believe he won't return to Egyptian sports currently due to his involvement in another mission in the Saudi Entertainment Authority and that it will simply be a section within the entertainment events he oversees.

It's the exploitation of major Egyptian teams playing in the kingdom to entertain Saudis in exchange for millions of dollars for clubs and sports officials in Egypt.

Dollars and Entertainment

A source within the Football Association revealed to al-Masry al-Youm newspaper in early April 2024 that playing the Al-Ahly and Zamalek match in Saudi Arabia would be "the largest and most financially lucrative agreement in the history of Egyptian football."

He explained that negotiations had been ongoing for months between the Clubs Association, UMS, and the Saudi side, to arrange the financial compensation.

He pointed out that Al-Ahly and Zamalek would receive a substantial return of close to one million dollars for their participation. There would also be financial returns for all Egyptian clubs, not just the two poles, according to the agreement.

There were calculations by Egyptian athletes about an agreement between Turki Al al-Sheikh and the board of the Sports United Egypt company, a subsidiary of Egyptian intelligence, regarding the "fee" that the former would distribute to move the Egyptian league to the kingdom.

It was confirmed that both Al-Ahly and Zamalek teams would receive three million dollars for each match, with an additional 3 million to be paid to United Sports Egypt company and one and a half million to the Egyptian Pro League to distribute to the rest of the league clubs, totaling 7.5 million dollars.

The president of the United Sports Egypt company, Mohamed Yahya Lotfy, stated that they had succeeded in attracting a sponsor for Egyptian clubs, which would be announced in the coming days, raising questions about whether Turki Al al-Sheikh was meant.

Lotfy described the United Sports Egypt company as an "Egyptian company competing with global companies in organizing and marketing sports events," as reported by the al-Youm al-Sabea (Youm7) website, affiliated with the intelligence media company, on March 12, 2024.

Turki Al al-Sheikh's involvement in sports and then arts in Egypt is just part of a Saudi plan to replace Cairo as a cultural and sports alternative, as traditional cultural lights that distinguished capitals like Cairo, Beirut, and Damascus have dimmed due to various factors.

Saudi Arabia, whose name was mostly associated with oil, deserts, and the Hajj and Umrah seasons as the "Land of the Two Holy Mosques," sought to become a sports, artistic, and cultural center in the Middle East through festivals and events hosted on its soil.

However, the irony is that this transformation is linked to a change in Islamic identity and appeasing the West, which has recently sparked wide criticism.