PIF Joins FIFA Club World Cup 2025 as Official Partner.

Salem Badughaish

Photo Credit: PIF

The Public Investment Fund (PIF) of Saudi Arabia has been announced as an official partner of the inaugural FIFA Club World Cup 2025™, strengthening its expanding portfolio of international sports assets and affirming its strategic role in football’s global commercial ecosystem. The month-long tournament, set to begin on 14 June 2025 in Miami, will bring together 32 of the world’s top clubs across 11 U.S. cities — a new format designed to reshape the scale and commercial potential of club-level football.

This partnership marks another step in PIF’s broader strategy of leveraging sport to build global visibility, increase diplomatic reach, and embed long-term investment narratives across entertainment, infrastructure, and media.

Strategic Alignment: Club Football as Global Soft Power

FIFA and PIF both framed the agreement as part of a shared ambition to drive the growth of football on and off the pitch. According to Romy Gai, FIFA’s Chief Business Officer, the partnership is about more than branding:

“We are delighted to welcome PIF as a partner of the FIFA Club World Cup 2025. Together, we look forward to delivering a historic tournament that inspires and unites fans from around the world.”

He added that first-time partners like PIF are critical not only to the commercial success of the new 32-club format but also to FIFA’s larger strategy of making club football a more globally balanced enterprise.

For PIF, the deal follows high-profile sports investments including LIV Golf, Newcastle United, multiple domestic Saudi sports projects, and a commercial partnership with Concacaf announced in 2023.

Youth and Development Narrative PIF FIFA Club World Cup

PIF emphasized that the partnership is not purely commercial. Mohammed AlSayyad, Head of Corporate Brand at PIF, pointed to the fund’s interest in grassroots access and long-term development:

“PIF is creating a legacy of transformative impact in sports, including through its partnerships. We are unlocking opportunities to drive the growth of the sport around the world.”

The narrative is consistent with PIF’s broader positioning: high-profile global deals accompanied by domestic messaging around youth access, economic diversification, and long-term community value — all under the umbrella of Saudi Vision 2030.

FIFA’s Most Commercially Ambitious Club Tournament Yet

The 2025 edition of the Club World Cup will be the first to feature 32 clubs, turning what was once a niche FIFA tournament into a summer-long competition set to rival UEFA’s Champions League and CONMEBOL’s Libertadores in commercial weight.

The tournament will be staged across 12 stadiums in 11 U.S. cities, culminating in the final at MetLife Stadium (New York/New Jersey) on 13 July 2025. The extended format offers partners like PIF unprecedented international visibility and integration into one of FIFA’s fastest-scaling properties.

Notably, the announcement comes just months before Saudi Arabia is expected to intensify its own preparations for hosting the FIFA World Cup 2034™, for which PIF will likely play a central operational and financial role.