Addressing critical needs: PIF’s sponsorship leader Alanoud Althonayan on the rationale driving its major sports partnerships

0:04Hello and welcome to a new series from Leaders addressing critical needs, PIF sponsorships in action. I'm James Emmett. And I'm David Cushnan. Over the course of three episodes, we'll be delving into the sponsorship and partnership strategy that's been developed by Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund to support its increasing activities across the world of sport. In particular, we'll examine the ways in which PIF's sponsorship portfolio across sports like tennis, golf, football and motorsport has been created, and the wider aims underpinning partnerships. As you'll hear, the sponsorships are being brought to life by working with partner rights holders to address critical needs within individual sports or more broadly across society.

0:47You'll hear about the WTA Player Maternity Fund, the AI-powered tennis IQ revolutionising player analysis and coaching capability, the education mission around sustainable transport powering PIF's Formula E and E1 partnerships, and the focus on growing participation and providing opportunity for young talent in football and golf. In this first episode, our guide to PIF's approach to sports partnerships is Alenoud Althanaian, PIF's director and head of events and sponsorship. And I travelled to Riyadh recently to sit down with her for an in-depth conversation explaining how PIF approaches and activates its sponsorship programme.

1:27Alenoud Althanaian, it's great to be with you. We're in Riyadh. We're up on floor 52 of PIF Tower. Thank you very much for being with us. Thank you, David. It's a pleasure to join you today to talk about a very interesting topic and explain to your audience the power and importance of PIF's role in the world of sports. We're going to get into some of the key partnerships that PIF has struck over the last couple of years and understand more about how they're addressing critical needs. But first of all, as a bit of wider context, maybe you could talk a little bit about PIF and where exactly sport currently fits in the wider PIF story at the moment.

2:14Definitely. PIF is one of the world's most impactful investors with the objective of creating opportunities, enabling new sectors and helping the transformation of the Saudi economy and accordingly the global economy. And obviously sport is a key priority to us from both investment angle and partnership angle. And the reason for that is because we realize and acknowledge the importance of sport as a strong platform to connect people, to bring in more opportunities across different industries, whether it's healthcare, technology, tourism. So we really give a focus on sport because of its impact.

2:56I was thinking about your own role within PIF as well, heading up events and sponsorship. And it actually struck me that that might be currently the most exciting role in the whole of world sport. So tell us a little bit about your job, what you do, how you do it and where it starts and where it ends. Definitely. I think my journey at BIF has been very exciting. Seven years ago, I would never imagine that I would be in this place today. What is very interesting and enjoyable about my role is I am working in an organization that honestly empower and enable me to forge a long and bold partnership.

3:38And that's basically what makes me very excited about my job because I am interested in sports particularly because I do understand the importance of it in achieving the impact I want to achieve. And we believe that what we've done so far is still the beginning. There's so much that we can do. But at the same time, there are so many challenges in my role. I think one of the challenges is to be able to prioritize and find the right partners. Not any partner would share the same vision and objective that we have. And to be able to choose the right partners, that would enable us and help us to achieve what we want to achieve is a bit challenging sometimes because at earlier conversations, you would believe that some partners would help you and would support you.

4:27But when it comes to reality, I believe because the general sense of sponsorships in the world is commercial sponsorships. And what PIF is doing is non-traditional commercial sponsorship. And not everyone does get our objective and our purpose. The level of support and endorsement of PIF senior leadership is unmatched. It is what has enabled us to be where we are now, building sports partnerships that create meaningful and lasting change in the world of sports. His Excellency Yasser Romayan, the governor of PIF, has been the instrumental figure leading and driving PIF's growing presence in sports.

5:04As you know, His Excellency has been named recently as one of the most influential leaders in the world of sport, being named among SPJ's Influence 125 list, which recognizes the most influential leaders in sports business over the past 25 years. I believe that this recognitions align with His Excellency's visionary leadership, which is a key driver of the impact PIF has created through its investment and partnerships in the world of sports. And as we will come on to talk about, you have been at the heart of building several of these partnerships in all sorts of different sports, in golf, in tennis, in motorsport, in football, to name but a few.

5:53Tell us a little bit about that selection process and how you first of all decide on which sports and then as we will get to which individual rights holders share your vision and you believe you can work with to forge that kind of key partnership. Yeah. So our selection process goes beyond the sport itself or choosing a specific sport. It goes beyond what kind of sport we need to be involved in to what kind of sport would allow us to achieve the impact we want to achieve. What kind of sport has the gaps to bridge, the opportunities to capture and allow us to achieve what we want to achieve. It is also important for us in choosing the sport is to look at the partners that we will work with.

6:38And that's a key focus for us, which is to work with like-minded partners who share the same vision and allow us to achieve what we want to achieve. And obviously, the importance of the sport itself in terms of long-term sustainability, in terms of the fan base, are as well important factors. So it's a very comprehensive process that looks at different pieces and bits. And it's a formula. So we bring everything together and then decide that this is the right sport to be involved in. When you look across your current portfolio, and we'll come on to talk about the specifics in a moment, you talked about this non-traditional commercial partnership model that you're looking to apply and work with partners to create.

7:26Tell us what you think sets PIF apart when it comes to striking those kind of partnerships. We think the PIF sponsorship strategy itself is very unique in nature because, as I said, it's non-traditional and the main focus is not a commercial branding opportunity. The main objective of the PIF sponsorship strategy is to create meaningful impact. And we were able to create four different pillars that are key areas of focus to create an impact within, which are sustainability, inclusivity, youth and technology. These four pillars are key pillars in every society, and it's basically what allow us to focus on in our partnerships.

8:07So, yes, it is important for any sponsorship to have commercial returns, to have immediate returns. I'm not saying that's not important. It is. But that's not the main focus of BIF. And we've proved that's not the case with the multiple initiatives we've announced through our partnerships and drove a significant impact across these sports. Let's dig into a few of those sports, shall we? And I really want to start with tennis because in some ways that's been a headline series of partnerships actually on the ATP side and also on the WTA side. You talked about selecting the right sports and selecting partners that you believe you can do good with and good business with.

8:53Why tennis? Why tennis? I'm actually extremely proud about the partnership with tennis for many reasons. I believe that tennis fulfilled on the criteria that we are looking at, whether is it partners that are like-minded and share the same vision, whether it's so many opportunities to be able to capture, and the meaningful initiative that we've created. To talk about tennis specifically, I think we believed and saw that there is huge potential for growth in tennis. There are so many things going on in tennis and it needs to be all brought together. And I believe in our initial conversations, we were able to talk to ATP and WTA and we saw that there's a huge potential for them to come together, for us to work with them to actually elevate tennis to the next level.

9:46The partnership with tennis is particularly special to me because we're actually the first ever partner that sponsored both women's ranking and men's ranking. And this to me is a strong statement to the world that we actually believe in inclusivity. We actually support women's sport, specifically by believing that it is as important and as equal as men's. And that's why we made sure to be supporting both equally. We've also looked at the different gaps with the WTA and ATP. and honestly our relationship with both of them has been amazing because we've been transparent, we've been open, we acknowledged and realized the challenges and issues and how can PIF come in and help in solving these problems.

10:33So there were multiple initiatives that we've announced, whether it's the ATP Tennis IQ powered by PIF and a DEER initiative to my heart, which is the PIF WTA Maternity Fund, among multiple other initiatives that we can definitely talk about more in details. Let's do that. And let's talk about, let's start with the maternity fund, because that obviously created a lot of headlines when it was announced, something completely new for the sport of tennis, but actually something new in sport as well. Tell us about, first of all, what the fund is and what the intention is behind it. So from the very beginning, and as I said, We usually start a partnership by a conversation, a transparent and open conversation to address the existing challenges and gaps.

11:22And from the very beginning, we acknowledged and realized that maternity support is a key area where we can actually make a tangible impact. David, it's very unfortunate that in 2025, female athletes do not get any maternity support. They're basically being forced to choose between pursuing a professional career or building a family. And that's a huge gap in the world of women's sport, which definitely bridge and block the growth and involvement of women's sport. And that's when we realized that this is where we need to step in and support and contribute. And it was the inception of the idea of the WTA.

12:03We want to provide female athletes with the opportunity to thrive without having to take a very difficult decision. The PIFWTA Maternity Fund is the first time ever where an external partner provide maternity support. So to me, I hope that it becomes an example for other organizations to follow. Because maternity support is not an issue or challenge just in women's tennis. It's a global women's sport challenge, among many others. But to start with, this is a key area of focus that we need to contribute to and we need to encourage others to contribute to as well. So paid maternity leave for players for up to 12 months.

12:46Correct. Other benefits as well around fertility, treatments, for example. And you must have been thrilled by the response of the players to the announcement and to the implementation of this fund. Definitely, because this initiative specifically has reflected the seriousness and commitment of PIF. This initiative has been discussed for years, but only PIF was able to step in and say, we're here to support that. So it is a strong statement. Players had multiple conversations with myself, with WTA. They expressed their excitement. They expressed their appreciations as well. So we're very excited about this initiative.

13:32And I believe that this is just the first step to contribute to the growth and development of women's sports globally. On the ATP side, you mentioned Tennis IQ, which we saw a demonstration of anybody who was at our Leaders Week London event in October. saw, I mean, I'm going to say a hugely enthusiastic Darren Cahill talking about the, you know, not just the actual product and the output, but the opportunities that that opens up for players at all levels on the ATP rankings. From your perspective, tell us about that, because that's, again, looks from the outside like it's addressing another critical need within the sport.

14:16Correct. Darren has been amazing in advocating for this technology because he believed in its significance. To go back to the idea of this initiative, as I've mentioned, technology is one of the pillars of the sponsorship strategy. And technology is always being used to address critical needs. And that was the case with the ATP Tennis IQ powered by PIF. We had discussions with ATP on the existing gaps and performance monitoring was one of these gaps. And that's where the whole idea started. The ATP Tennis IQ technology is basically a technology that provides an advanced data and advanced performance analysis to players and coaches to improve their performance.

15:03And obviously, this will lead eventually and naturally to a better fans experience. What is very special about this technology is it's being provided to up to 2 ,000 players in the ATP Tour and the ATP Challenger Tour. And it's being provided at no cost. And that's where the opportunities at all level and supporting athletes comes when it... He was a great spokesperson for it and exciting for the players. But obviously, from his point of view, he said just the potential almost unlimited now for coaches to be able to really dig into the data and identify areas to work with players on. Definitely.

15:47I think and that's a very good point, David, because not everyone consider coaches and their support and their initiative. coaches are always being left out. And that's where we thought that in order for a player to perform well, in order for the fans to have a great experience, the coach needs to have all the tools to support him in his job. And I think that's exactly why Darren was very excited about the initiative, among other coaches that we had multiple conversations with as well. Just to conclude on tennis then, two really fascinating initiatives and projects that you've got running. If you were to sum up tennis and PIF as we end 2025, how would you do it?

16:27That's a very hard question. There's so much to sum up in a word. But I think tennis for us is a real life example of when organization has the will, the actual impact will be created. Let's move on to another sport that you are deeply involved in now. And that's motorsport, which has been another focus area, notably PIF's wide ranging partnership with electric motorsports and Alejandro Agag's various series that he's created over the last 15 years or so, Formula E, E1, Powerboats in particular. Again, with that wider context in mind of, I guess, sustainability in this case, tell us a little bit about the thinking around the decision to work with Alejandro and his team on those various electric series.

17:25So we all are aware and know that Alejandro was the creator of these new electric series among three different series, whether it's the FE, the Extreme Age and the E1. So each one of them is unique in its nature and they're all focused on electric mobility and sustainability, which is, as you said, one of our key areas of focus. And that's when the whole idea of creating this new IP of Electric 360. And the purpose is bringing these three electric series to work together, share the knowledge, because obviously each one has different context, has different operation model. And for them to come together and work together to elevate and redefine electric mobility, that was the main purpose.

18:11We came in, we brought them together, and we launched the E360, which aims to redefine electric mobility and to support sustainable transportation. Within that partnership, again, we focused on inclusivity, on sustainability, and on multiple initiatives that enable younger generation and youth as well, among female and male, to grow and pursue professional career in the world of electric mobility. And as you hint at there, it's a partnership that clearly goes far beyond branding. I'm just looking down from the 52nd floor here. There's a lot of cars on the road in Riyadh, as there are a lot of cars on the road in lots of cities.

18:55But there's a movement here. And I know that at the heart of what Alejandro has been trying to do with Formula E and Extreme H in particular, in terms of cars, is to be a showcase for the development of battery technology. And I wonder how that translates then into some of the education and social programs that you're starting to work with the E360 team on. I think to be fair, the electric mobility and electric transportation in general is still an emerging industry. So the level of knowledge in that area is still not that advanced. So what we wanted to make sure is to focus on the baseline, the grassroots level, to build that knowledge within the grassroots.

19:41And that's where the Driving Force program came in. It's a program that is provided to kids from 8 to 18 to give them full knowledge and full experience when it comes to electric mobility to the different areas, whether it's sustainability, green technology, batteries, multiple topics. And we provide them with full curriculum to get them into understanding what is electric mobility, raise awareness. Hopefully, this will help them one day to become interested to pursue a professional career. And accordingly, within 10 years from now, we've contributed to building the growth of the sector. And that's obviously a long-term partnership and E360, clearly a long-term vision.

20:24As you look ahead over the next few years in terms of that partnership, what do you see as the continuing potential? I believe that a key focus for us is to raise awareness on electric mobility, on electric transportation, on sustainability and green technology. And usually the audience would not connect unless they become passionate and emotional. And what else would be more attractive than sport? And that's why we're using sport. We're using E360 to raise awareness, to contribute to the growth and development of the sector and hopefully become a key contributor to the sustainability angle. Let's move on to golf, which has obviously been a key part of the story when it comes to Saudi Arabia and sports, live golf.

21:12But from a participation angle, tell us a little bit about the work that Golf Saudi has been doing in and around the sport at all levels. Yeah. So Gulf Saudi is one of our key partners for years now. We work closely with them in the development of Gulf in Saudi and accordingly globally. The current situation in Saudi Arabia is that Gulf is one of the key sports on the national sports strategy. There's a significant focus on Gulf. The infrastructure is great, yet we're still missing the participation and the knowledge. And that's where we've been working with Gulf Saudi to bring in the proper knowledge and to encourage the level of participation.

22:01Through multiple tournaments, through multiple programs, we're bringing in more people to participate, to try at least the game for once, to become more passionate and be part of it. Multiple initiatives were launched through our partnership with Gulf Saudi, the Future Fairways Initiative, so the Future Fairway and the PIF Pathway, which are focused on these two goals, increasing awareness on Saudi Arabia infrastructure in Gulf and bringing in more people to participate and sharing the knowledge with them. And just thinking about that from a golf perspective, but I guess maybe as a broader question around all the sports that you're working in, from a Saudi participation standpoint, you want to bring more people in to play the game, the game of golf or whatever game it is.

22:50But then I guess a key part of your thinking must be over time, and as always, it's going to be a long term effort, how you're creating the pathways through to elite level, to ultimately professional level in a lot of these sports for athletes who have talent. The PIF Pathway program is the initiative that was launched with that purpose. We've worked with the Ladies European Tour and Asian Tour to create this program. So basically, just to give you some idea, David, there are multiple Saudi youth that really wants to become part of the growth development of Gulf, yet the knowledge is still not here.

23:36So what we've been doing is we've been sending them to global tours and tournaments around the world to be able to get the experience and expertise. For example, and that's a very interesting story, Noora Al-Gain, Noora works at Gulf Saudi in agronomy. And agronomy is basically being specialized in the grass of the golf course, which is actually a key priority for the success of any tournament. So Noura was sent through the PIF Pathway program to the Centurion Club in London to learn more about the characteristics of grass and how to maintain and how to manage grass development of golf courses.

24:19So these kind of programs of very niche, unique experiences are being provided for Saudi youth to bring in all that knowledge and to meet the growth of golf, especially with all of the infrastructure we're having in Saudi. And it all builds out, I guess, into ultimately an ecosystem, experts, as you say. It's not just about players necessarily. It's about all the expertise required to operate golf courses, to manage golf courses, to run tournaments, which will all build over time. Definitely. So not everyone knows that Saudi Arabia is building one of the most advanced golf courses in the world.

25:00There are multiple. Actually, there are multiple. It's not even one. Some of the most advanced golf course in the world. And to be able to share this with the world and for the world to be part of this experience, to join Saudi Arabia and enjoy these golf courses, we've launched the Future Fairways Initiative. The Future Fairways Initiative is using technology as well to address a need, which is building advanced simulators and having them around the world for global audience to understand what's happening in Saudi Arabia. How are we building the most advanced courses and for them to become part of this movement.

25:43And hopefully once these golf courses are ready, they become players. And this will encourage golf tourism in Saudi Arabia as well. The final sport I wanted to touch on was inevitably football. I don't know if you've heard Alanud, but there's a big few years for football in Saudi Arabia coming. with, of course, the World Cup. And I suppose partly in preparation for that and partly to start having a role within the world game, PIF has in fairly recent times struck quite significant partnerships with both CONCACAF and FIFA. Tell us a little bit about the thinking behind both of those partnerships.

26:28So as you've mentioned, David, Saudi Arabia is expecting to host the World Cup in 2034. I wish I was younger by then, but hopefully I can talk about our contribution to the success of this tournament. So with the FIFA, because of the expected significant changes when it comes to the football landscape in Saudi Arabia and hosting the 2034, it is important to work with the top partners in football, which is obviously FIFA, to import knowledge, to allow access, to bring in more experience to Saudi Arabia, to be able to deliver and achieve the 2034 with the highest standard. We're working with the FIFA to basically bring that knowledge in.

27:18We're working with them on a program to, again, send Saudi youth to be part of the experience of the next World Cup as well and important bring in the knowledge and hopefully they would be a key contributor to the success of it. When it comes to the CONCACAF as well, we are working with the CONCACAF to support level playing field, to provide opportunities at all level. There is a key focus on female football development with the CONCACAF. And that's where we will be announcing soon a program. I don't want to ruin it. So hopefully the audience will keep an eye on PIF accounts and hear about it soon.

27:55But basically, it is growing and improving the knowledge and expertise among female football players and allow them more access. We know that many of the countries within the CONCACAF Federation does not have enough access. So we want to come in and support them on that. Again, to be a key contributor as we are in women's sport and to evolve women's sport globally. And globally, football really is on its own level as a world sport, the most popular sport in the world. How important was it at a broader level for PIF to make sure you had partnerships in football, as well as all the other sports that we've talked about?

28:37I think, as you mentioned, football is one of the most watched sports in the world. And as we've mentioned earlier, sport in general is a strong platform to connect. So football is a very important platform to connect with our audience, for them to understand what we are doing in the world of sport and beyond world of sport. Because PIF is a significant and impactful investor globally, not only in sport, but But for us to be able to communicate that message, we need the right platforms. And football, among other sports, is a very important platform to deliver that role. Just to conclude, I wanted to ask you a question that we often ask people who are involved in creating sports partnerships, commercial partnerships around the world.

29:26And that is the question of measurement, which obviously is a bit more complex than it once was when it comes to sport and sponsorship and partnerships. How does PIF approach it and how do you approach success, essentially? So success has two angles when it comes to sponsorships. We talk about the traditional sponsorships and we talk the non-traditional. And obviously we measure success across both. When it comes to our role as a non-traditional partner, we measure success through the outcomes of the initiatives we created within the four pillars. So it's the number of people that participated, for example, or number of kids that participated in the driving force program.