High-level Saudi officials have met and discussed the development of basketball in Saudi Arabia with former NBA star Kobe Bryant as the kingdom works to diversify its sports sector, according to recently released foreign lobbying registration documents in the United States.
The document, now available on the website of the US Foreign Agents Registration unit, shows that Saudi Arabia’s General Sports Authority (GSA) enlisted the services of the Los Angeles-based Churchill Ripley Group to help with its efforts.
On its website, the international consulting firm says it “helps clients formulate goals and positioning, makes introduction to influencers and potential hires who can contribute to the realisation of these goals, and builds a network of relationships that can change clients’ business trajectory and increase revenue.”
Its work with Saudi Arabia, which was terminated on July 31, 2018, partly involved “scheduling interactions” for Princess Reema bint Bandar Al Saud, the daughter of a former ambassador to the US and the first female head of the Saudi Federation for Community Sports, as well as Prince Abdulaziz bin Turki Al-Faisal, the GSA’s chairman.
Among the interactions that the firm helped organise was a February meeting between Princess Reema and Kobe Bryant on the topic of “the development of basketball in Saudi Arabia”.
Developing Saudi sports
Other meetings Princess Reema had in the US included one with Sophie Goldschmidt, the CEO of World Surf League, about “the development of the sport of surfing in Saudi Arabia”, as well as with the CEO of experience design and production company Thinkwell, in which they were reported to have discussed the “development of a sports mall in Saudi Arabia.”
Additionally, the Princess also held discussions with Bing and Twitch concerning e-sports in Saudi Arabia.
The document also noted that Prince Abdulaziz met with the commissioner of the US National Hockey League (NHL) on the development of floor hockey in the kingdom, as well as the deputy commissioner of the National Basketball Association.
Prince Abdulaziz also met with the commissioner of Major League Baseball on the development of that sport in Saudi Arabia, as well as with action sports collective Nitro Circus regarding motocross and BMX events in Saudi Arabia.
He also met with Madison Square Garden to discuss “stadium infrastructure”, the document shows.
Additionally, the documents also show that the Saudi officials participated in a number of public events – with the Middle East Policy Council, for example – and were interviewed by outlets including ESPN, Reuters, MSNBC and National Public Radio.
The document only lists calls and meetings that Churchill Ripley helped arrange, but does not mention the outcome of the encounters or any follow-on interactions that may have taken place.
For its work with the Saudis, Churchill Ripley was paid a total of $66,000, with another $90,666 being marked as “past due” as of July 31, 2018.
The full document can be found here.
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