As The Middle East Crumbles, Saudi Arabia Expands Sports Empire

As the rest of the world nervously looks on the escalating situation in the Gaza Strip between Israel and Hamas, it's business as usual in Saudi Arabia.

The latest win for the Kingdom comes as they are expected to host the 2034 World Cup in Riyadh. The Saudis didn't even have to fight for it - they 'conveniently' were the only country that bid for it. Funny how that works out.

FIFA had asked for potential host countries that were located in Asia and Oceania for the 2034 soccer tournament. There were initial reports that perhaps Australia would be a suitor but they turned it down before yesterday's deadline.

So in a field of one, the Saudi's won, which seems to be happening more and more these days at the expense of the rest of the sports and entertainment world - especially here in the United States.

Saudi Arabia was the only team to put a bid in for the 2034 World Cup. (Photo by Mohammed Saad/Anadolu via Getty Images)

SAUDI'S ARE INFLUENCING SPORT BY SPORT

This past weekend the Saudis hosted Tyson Fury vs Francis Ngannou in what was a historic matchup pinning one of the boxing world's best vs one of the MMA's best in Ngannou. The crossover fight lived up to all the hype with Ngannou even most likely winning despite the referees calling it for Fury.

The issue of course is the fact that we are talking about Saudi Arabia here - with many believing that they are "sportswashing" their questionable human rights record by paying off and buying up as many sports entities as they can. They are doing the "nothing to see here!" approach by blinding people with all the flashing lights and big names.

Just look at what they've been able to do this year alone:

And now the World Cup.

MONEY OVER MORALS?

As I've argued time and time again - I don't blame the Saudis for wanting to expand their influence, that's just geopolitics 101.

But we shouldn't be willing to hand over our sovereignty and toss aside our morals and values just because the Saudis have a ton of money. Eventually that is going to backfire - especially as the line between politics, entertainment, sports and media continues to be blurred. What happens when the Saudis eventually have SO much leverage that they call the shots? What's happening right now in the Middle East shows just how quickly something can happen and when it does it's important to make sure we have OUR best intentions in mind.

By the way, quote me when NFL games start taking place in Riyadh. I think we're less than five years away from an annual game being hosted there.

WHAT'S YOUR THOUGHTS ON SAUDI ARABIA'S GROWING INFLUENCE IN THE SPORTS WORLD?