Engulfed How Saudi Arabia Bought Sport and the World

<p><b>'Bravura on the ground reporting' </b>- David Goldblatt, award-winning author of<i> The Ball is Round</i><br><br><b>'This is an important book</b>' - Simon Kuper, bestselling author of <i>Soccernomics</i>, <i>Chums </i>and <i>Barça</i><br><br><b>'Compelling' </b>- <i>The Times</i><br><br><b>'A subtle examination of the complex interplay between global ambition, economic power, and ethical considerations' </b>- <i>MoneyWeek</i><br><br><b>'A comprehensive and shocking account' </b>- <i>When Saturday Comes</i><br>_________<br><br>In 2034, Saudi Arabia will host the men's FIFA World Cup and mark the culmination of Mohammed bin Salman's ambitious plan to modernise Saudi Arabia, a kingdom of unfathomable wealth at the heart of the Islamic world, which is only now emerging from nearly a century of self-isolation. How did we get here? Why would a country spend tens of billions of dollars, perhaps even hundreds of billions in the long run, to buy and control sport?<br><br><i>Engulfed</i> is a story about ambition, family rivalries, extreme wealth, power, murder and disinformation. It is also the story of dictatorship, political corruption and, at its root, how sport - football, yes, but also golf, boxing and even e-sports - became a vital geopolitical tool for Saudi Arabia.<br><br>Drawing on Montague's exclusive first-hand interviews from his extensive travels across Saudi Arabia, the US, the north-east of England, Spain, Turkey and beyond, <i>Engulfed </i>uncovers how the House of Saud zeroed in on the political power of sport, using it both as a powerful political tool of influence and as a way to rectify the PR damage caused by one of the most infamous assassinations in history: the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi.</p>