Saudi Arabia’s Futuristic City Project NEOM Partners AFC

Earlier this week, NEOM, a US$500b futuristic city project development in Tabuk, Saudi Arabia, run by the state’s sovereign fund, has become a global partner of the pre-eminent football platform in Asia, the Asian Football Confederation (AFC).

The deal is a major coup by NEOM to raise awareness of its ambitions to create a city wholly driven by clean energy.  The three-year deal will cover major AFC national team competitions, including the 2022 World Cup and AFC Asian qualifiers featuring the continent’s top 12 football nations, as well as the AFC Asian Cup China 2023.

Other competitions included in the deal are next year’s AFC Women’s Asian Cup in India and AFC U23 Asian Cup in Uzbekistan. 

“The AFC is delighted to welcome NEOM to the fast-expanding AFC family of global partners, which once again reinforces the undeniable stature and prestige of AFC’s brand and its competitions,” AFC General Secretary Dato Windsor John said.

The deal – brokered by AFC’s commercial partner Football Marketing Asia – will see them collaborate with NEOM and AFC on launching a series of activation campaigns in the coming months. The early campaigns will be focused on digital platforms and over time will evolve into experiential ones for football fans in the region to experience NEOM in person.

Nadhmi Al-Nasr, CEO of NEOM, said, “NEOM is extremely excited about its ambitious partnership with the AFC. Football is by far Saudi Arabia’s favorite sport. It holds a special place in the hearts of our people and therefore provides a unique opportunity to inspire and enable NEOM’s citizens to lead active lifestyles as we move toward our goal of having the most physically active population on the planet.

“We regard and value the AFC as a progressive and innovative partner who is committed to taking football in Asia to greater heights,” he added. “This reflects NEOM’s own ambition to become a globally recognized center of sporting excellence, to provide a world-class environment for the brightest minds and best talent to excel, and to contribute to the growth and economic prosperity of the Kingdom.”