Top 5 — Middle East Expands Global Sports Influence
From the NBA to the MLS, gulf states are funding the future of American sports
Whatsup Squad,
Let’s get into the top stories of the week:
⭐️ FEATURE STORY
The Middle East’s Growing Influence in American Sports
The Boston Celtics kicked off their season with preseason games in Abu Dhabi.
During that trip, Celtics owner Wyc Grousbeck pitched the Mubadala Investment Company, the UAE’s sovereign wealth fund, to invest in the team.
While Mubadala has yet to decide whether to invest, the Celtics aren’t the first NBA team to explore business opportunities in the region.
Last year, the Qatar Investment Authority became the first sovereign wealth fund to buy into an NBA team when it purchased roughly 5% of the Washington Wizards' parent company.
And that’s not the only sports news coming out of the Middle East this week.
New York City FC announced a significant leap in their longstanding partnership with Etihad Airways.
The MLS team revealed that the airliner will take the naming rights of its future soccer-specific stadium — now called Etihad Park — in a 20-year agreement.
NYCFC is one of 13 clubs either majority or part-owned by City Football Group, a subsidiary of Abu Dhabi United Group, which has close ties to Etihad.
Bottom Line - From equity investments in major franchises to high-profile sponsorships, Middle East nations are reshaping the global sports landscape. As prices continue to soar, they are some of the only investors with deep enough pockets to invest.
Read more on the Celtics and NYCFC
NBA’s Basketball Africa League Drops 2025 Schedule
The NBA’s Basketball Africa League (BAL) just released the schedule for its 2025 season.
Kicking off in June, the fifth season will include the first BAL games in Morocco and the first BAL Finals in South Africa.
The upcoming season builds off a successful 2024 campaign, where the league set an attendance record of more than 120,000 fans across the four host countries, and generated more than 1.2 billion impressions across NBA and BAL social media channels.
Bottom Line - The BAL is the NBA’s first and only league outside North America, and the league’s traction underscores basketball’s growth on the world’s fastest-growing continent.
Read more here
Athletes as Investors – From Michael Jordan to Giannis
Michael Jordan is putting money into Courtside Ventures, a VC fund focused on sports, lifestyle and gaming.
As one of the first early-stage sports-focused funds, Courtside’s track record includes seed investments in The Athletic and StockX.
While Jordan’s investment comes over 20 years after his retirement, 29-year-old Giannis Antetokounmpo just launched his own venture capital fund.
Build Your Legacy Ventures will focus on investments in sports, entertainment and technology.
The fund has already invested in the new women’s 3x3 league Unrivaled Basketball.
Bottom Line - With the surge in NBA player earnings, athletes are becoming investors earlier than ever before. Still, Jordan’s investment should serve as a blueprint, highlighting how athletes can get exposure to venture capital without the additional responsibility and liability of operating their own fund.
Read more on Jordan and Giannis
Global Super League Kicks Off in Guyana
The ExxonMobil Guyana Global Super League (GSL) is set to kick off tomorrow at the Guyana National Stadium.
Inspired by Kaieteur Falls, the largest single drop waterfall in the world, the league trophy was just unveiled by Guyana’s President as part of the Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to the country.
The tournament will be broadcast globally, including key markets such as India, Australia, Pakistan, UK, USA, and the Caribbean.
For all countries without a broadcast deal, the matches will be streamed live from the GSL’s Facebook and YouTube pages.
Bottom Line - The Global Super League is South America’s first standalone T20 tournament and will see teams from Australia, Bangladesh, England, Guyana and Pakistan competing for the trophy and a $1 million prize pool. The tournament’s global broadcasting network underscores its ambition to become a staple in the international cricket calendar.
Read more here
Formula 1’s New and Improved Vegas Grand Prix
The Las Vegas Grand Prix is the most important race of year for Formula 1 because it is the only one that Liberty Media (F1’s parent company) owns completely.
Rather than focusing on the glitz and glamour of Vegas like they did last year, this year’s event centered on the additive nature of F1 for those living and working in Las Vegas and Clark County.
Additional efforts such as bringing hundreds of middle school children into the paddock on Wednesday for a community day and the free fan festival reflected the shift in approach.
Bottom Line - Last year, the Vegas Grand Prix was criticized for pricing out the average race fan, so this year they focused on accessibility — and it paid off. Not including the free fan experience (which attracted more than 25,000 fans each day), Formula 1 welcomed 306,000 people to Las Vegas for the race weekend.
Read more here
Until next time ✌🏾
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