How Saudi Arabia (and Capitalism) is DESTROYING Football

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  • čas přidán 11. 06. 2024
  • This summer as seen a massive spending spree by teams in the Saudi football league. Karim Benzema, Marcelo Brozovic, Kante, Mendy, Mane, Firmino, Jordan Henderson, Franck Kessie - are all some household names that have made the switch to the Gulf Monarchy for a fat paycheck.
    This is a symptom of many wider problems. The Saudis are using their vast wealth to buy influence around the world, including in sports, and want to use it to rehabilitate the Kingdom's poor international reputation - as well as diversify their revenue streams away from oil.
    .00:00:00 - Capitalism and Football Don't Mix
    00:05:55 - I LOVE FOOTY MATE
    00:07:30 - Saudi Arabia are actually good at football
    00:10:20 - Saudi Arabia has been buying the best players
    00:18:30 - Jordan Henderson is a hypocrite
    00:21:00 - Gulf Monarchies owning teams ruins football
    00:25:10 - The Saudi Public Investment Fund
    00:31:00 - Make it stop
    My Patreon: / thekavernacle
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    My Medium: / thekavernacle
    Alex (guy who did the graphics) CZcams channel: m.czcams.com/channels/gTaAo.html...

Komentáře • 548

  • @TheKavernacle
    @TheKavernacle  Před 10 měsíci +132

    This video will probably do very badly because it's a pretty big departure from my usual content - feel free to show it some love with likes etc 😅

    • @JDMI-
      @JDMI- Před 10 měsíci +15

      I finally feel seen as a lefty and football fan though so thanks for that. It’s two things that don’t often intersect 😅

    • @buttercxpdraws8101
      @buttercxpdraws8101 Před 10 měsíci

      Hey Kav, what is your opinion of the American lefty streamer Vaush? 🌻

    • @johncarroll772
      @johncarroll772 Před 10 měsíci +3

      ​@buttercxpdraws8101 badempanada is huge fan of vaush 😊

    • @MultiMarny
      @MultiMarny Před 10 měsíci

      @@buttercxpdraws8101vaush sucks, he’s a western chauvinist, bigoted and he’s got some pretty serious allegations against him

    • @powerviolentnightmare5026
      @powerviolentnightmare5026 Před 10 měsíci +1

      At its core it's still about capitalism, using football as a framework. I think even people who don't care about footy will watch it, especially if they already watch you

  • @hello7032
    @hello7032 Před 10 měsíci +200

    Also annoying to see sports media go “this probably isn’t good for football or humanitarian causes” and then just go on reporting about it as if it’s all regular now.

    • @vylbird8014
      @vylbird8014 Před 10 měsíci

      That is their job.

    • @hello7032
      @hello7032 Před 10 měsíci +6

      @@vylbird8014 so just don’t stand for anything.

    • @user-py7hr8ni8h
      @user-py7hr8ni8h Před 10 měsíci

      ​@@hello7032not the job of a reporter

    • @hello7032
      @hello7032 Před 10 měsíci +7

      @@user-py7hr8ni8h very juvenile view of reporting

    • @user-py7hr8ni8h
      @user-py7hr8ni8h Před 10 měsíci

      @@hello7032 they should report facts only, not put a spin on it. Gueds u are a fox news fan

  • @MrMysterious420
    @MrMysterious420 Před 10 měsíci +179

    The Saudis are investing in a lot of video game companies and esports teams too

    • @lol-ih1tl
      @lol-ih1tl Před 10 měsíci +25

      to achieve halal gaming /j

    • @condlaeirkrsrma7069
      @condlaeirkrsrma7069 Před 10 měsíci +7

      SNK purchase comes to mind

    • @Jok3r420
      @Jok3r420 Před 10 měsíci +3

      MBS ruined King Of Fighters 15 for me

    • @cheesi
      @cheesi Před 10 měsíci +2

      ​@@condlaeirkrsrma7069Wait, what? SNK like.. KOF devs?? Really?

    • @cheesi
      @cheesi Před 10 měsíci

      Oh wow, yeah, you weren't judding, that's. Not something I expected to see.

  • @johncarroll772
    @johncarroll772 Před 10 měsíci +82

    As Gordon Strachan said football is immoral, has been for decades .

    • @felixbache5369
      @felixbache5369 Před 10 měsíci +14

      As an avid football fan I used to think for years that the problems in football weren't caused by football itself but by outside forces
      More and more it seems however, that even if football isn't the direct cause of all the problems within the sport it is a system more than ripe for abuse

    • @whatifschrodingersboxwasacofin
      @whatifschrodingersboxwasacofin Před 10 měsíci

      And stupid. It has always been stupid. 🤷🏼‍♂️

    • @lifesucks5322
      @lifesucks5322 Před 10 měsíci +4

      the real power of football is the games you play with mates on the weekend

  • @standoughope
    @standoughope Před 10 měsíci +124

    Greed poisons everything.

    • @lloroshastar6347
      @lloroshastar6347 Před 10 měsíci +3

      I've totally lost all respect for Steven Gerard

    • @lol-ih1tl
      @lol-ih1tl Před 10 měsíci +16

      more specifically capitalism, because capitalism is what encourages greed.

    • @EliaFlowers
      @EliaFlowers Před 10 měsíci

      @@lloroshastar6347 and for Jordan Henderson

    • @lloroshastar6347
      @lloroshastar6347 Před 10 měsíci

      @@EliaFlowers well yeah but I think it was always still possible he would become a sell out. Gerard is supposed to be a one club kind of guy, Liverpool was his culture, but clearly socialism never was. Actually the most pro-capitalist, right-wing person I know is a Liverpool fan. This same person tried to justify Boris Johnson's Covid parties by saying 'yeah but he brought us Brexit, and that overrules the bad things he did because now I can trade with places outside of Europe'.
      I think really what most people like about Liverpool is their Football success, it's the city that's socialist but not the club.

    • @blasphimus
      @blasphimus Před 10 měsíci +3

      Just capitalism friend.

  • @Trenchfood
    @Trenchfood Před 10 měsíci +77

    I need to point out that, for me, being a teen when the Premier League began, capitalism has slowly destroyed football since that point. David Dein and the rise of Sky TV pumping money into Man. U. especially. Blackburn basically bought the league through Jack Walker's money and Leicester was a surprise but it was funded by Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha, so both were not quite the fairytale they might seem.

    • @evilkhamzat
      @evilkhamzat Před 10 měsíci +7

      Great point without capitalism there is no Leicester but don’t tell Kav his head might explode 😂😂😂

    • @nas84payne
      @nas84payne Před 8 měsíci

      True. But the relativity.

  • @celtic69
    @celtic69 Před 10 měsíci +31

    Been saying it for years, football is a bubble that is about to burst and all these vultures will pick apart the bones and move onto the next thing and leave the game behind in a horrific state

    • @celtic69
      @celtic69 Před 10 měsíci +3

      @@261i7 I know mate, I’ve been playing it longer than you’ve been alive

    • @whatifschrodingersboxwasacofin
      @whatifschrodingersboxwasacofin Před 10 měsíci +1

      “… saying for years” … “about to burst”. Confusing time-line. Or are you just keeping your prediction in your back pocket for the day when (if?) it comes true so you can say ‘told you so’? Do you charge people for readings? 🔮😂

    • @celtic69
      @celtic69 Před 10 měsíci +3

      @@whatifschrodingersboxwasacofin well considering football has been around for 150+ years, me saying the bubble is about to burst over the past few years isn’t that long

    • @mrlunar62
      @mrlunar62 Před 10 měsíci

      What bubble are u talking about? Like in what sense?

    • @celtic69
      @celtic69 Před 10 měsíci +5

      @@mrlunar62 A bubble is an economic cycle that is characterized by the rapid escalation of market value, particularly in the price of assets. This fast inflation is followed by a quick decrease in value, or a contraction, that is sometimes referred to as a "crash" or a "bubble burst."

  • @ziggylegion1604
    @ziggylegion1604 Před 10 měsíci +50

    i have no interest in any sports, am also american\canadian so i have no real connection to football really, but you have such a way with the topics you pick and how you connect them to political, cultural & social things that you still keep me engaged, i will def be sticking around for this one still kav 😁

    • @whatifschrodingersboxwasacofin
      @whatifschrodingersboxwasacofin Před 10 měsíci

      What’s an ‘american/canadian’? 🇨🇦

    • @ziggylegion1604
      @ziggylegion1604 Před 10 měsíci

      @@whatifschrodingersboxwasacofinwell i used it to just mean someone from the general north american part of the world but for me specifically i was born in canada and still have my canadian citizenship but i live in the united states

    • @snakesnoteyes
      @snakesnoteyes Před 10 měsíci +1

      As an American who deeply loves football(soccer), one of the reasons I love sports is it’s ability to unite people across so many lines.

  • @justhannah3960
    @justhannah3960 Před 10 měsíci +35

    Jordan Henderson going to the Saudi Pro League was beyond depressing because of just how much he advocated for the LGBTQ+ community. Fabinho, Mane and Firmino not so much, they never claimed to support us. Nor did Steven Garrard. But Hendo did and it leaves a sour taste, to say the least. The others, I sort of understand. They want to make their wealth generational etc etc. And I totally expect Mo Salah to be over there next season. But yes, this is grim. Beyond grim.

    • @justhannah3960
      @justhannah3960 Před 10 měsíci +8

      I just got to the bit where you talk about Hendo. And yeah, you summed it up pretty succinctly. I just want to add how sad it was that, after everything he did for us, Hendo's "farewell" was slinking out of an empty Anfield without so much as a YNWA from the fans in the Kop. Really quite sad and all for the Saudi Pro League. And I know people will say the money was worth it but it;s still sad on a human level.

    • @Miaowzi
      @Miaowzi Před 10 měsíci

      I don't think footballers have a say in that. They're bought and sold like commodities by management.

    • @NR-fd9wv
      @NR-fd9wv Před 10 měsíci +13

      @@Miaowzi no, footballers are the ones to decide whether they sign with a club. the transfer fees are only paid to buy them out of the contract (that's why there are no transfer fees when their contracts end).

    • @Miaowzi
      @Miaowzi Před 10 měsíci +3

      @@NR-fd9wv oh okay

  • @abelabel3664
    @abelabel3664 Před 10 měsíci +22

    The only thing to be done by football fans is to avoid purchasing anything advertised in football, as much as possible.

  • @quntface1518
    @quntface1518 Před 10 měsíci +13

    What I don''t understand is that Ronaldo is literally one of the richest sports people in the world. He probably already has more money than the combined lifetime of 500 people. Why does he need THIS much more? He would already be getting paid well wherever he went and that's not even considering the sponsorship money he gets, but why does he need the Saudi money on top of what he already gets? What more could he possibly need it for?
    I've learned that whether it's big corporations or people - it doesn't matter how much money they have, their goal is to have all of it if they can. Regardless of how they get it.

    • @wosamosman9814
      @wosamosman9814 Před 10 měsíci

      When you're offered insane amounts of money to do what you know how to do so well , why would you reject it ????

    • @TheClassConscience
      @TheClassConscience Před 7 měsíci

      Remember it's still a job. Wouldn't you want to make more money in a less competitive environment?

  • @marvincantu5636
    @marvincantu5636 Před 10 měsíci +20

    as an american who doesn’t watch football too much this was a very interesting watch as it has never really occurred to me that you could just buy local teams and completely ruin the entire sport extremely infuriating

    • @TheAutumnNetwork
      @TheAutumnNetwork Před 10 měsíci

      American football is just as corrupt to be honest. Especially in regards to stadiums and how a lot of them are funded by tax payers. :/

    • @uf3178
      @uf3178 Před 9 měsíci +1

      MLS is similar to a smaller scale. Like 20 teams just popped out of nowhere in the last 10 years and they expect people to care about teams that are formed by millionaires in an attempt to make money. I find it hard to rationalize how someone could just suddenly care about a soccer team that was only recently created by a few millionaires. There is no organic fan bases or culture.

    • @kangaroo3708
      @kangaroo3708 Před 8 měsíci

      @@uf3178
      Well if it becomes a tradition to go to the games and it’s enjoyable and meaningful then I don’t see why it’s not organic

  • @stephendavis5530
    @stephendavis5530 Před 10 měsíci +44

    Capitalism has basically ruined football since 1992 with the start of the Premier League, where the clubs who have money thrown at them succeed at the expense of the smaller clubs. Ever since the dollar came off the gold standard in 1971 and became based on Saudi oil, the US and UK have routinely ignored the horrific atrocities of the Saudi regime, which has included crucifying children and chopping up journalists. That's why the US practically burned their ass to Kuwait once they knew oil supplies could be affected. Incidentally, what is less well known about this war is that Iraq threatened to drop the US dollar in buying and selling oil. Libya was going to do the same with the gold Dinar.

  • @the1andonlytitch
    @the1andonlytitch Před 10 měsíci +23

    I remember Man City playing Bristol Rovers in league 1, they packed out their ground and packed out every away end too. They weren't a world wide club like United or Liverpool but they've always been a well supported club with a loyal fan base

  • @snakesnoteyes
    @snakesnoteyes Před 10 měsíci +59

    As someone who has turned their entire sleep schedule upside down to watch the Women’s World Cup, this is absolutely the content I’m here for.

    • @paulorocky
      @paulorocky Před 10 měsíci +15

      Even more ironic is that the Saudi tourism body tried to buy advertising at the WWC, thankfully the LOC put a stop to that. Off topic, for us Aussies it’s nice to have a World Cup in a decent time zone.

    • @snakesnoteyes
      @snakesnoteyes Před 10 měsíci +3

      @@paulorocky one of the members of my D&D group is an Aussie so the group joke is that they’ve got 2 Aussies until late August. Anyway, glad you get a chance to properly enjoy a Cup for a change! 🍻

  • @hughjass8430
    @hughjass8430 Před 10 měsíci +15

    I've gone from absolutely living and breathing football in the 90s and 2000s to not even checking scores any more.
    Top tier English football has been commodified and commercialised no differently to Hollywood superhero franchises.
    Clubs with full squads of foreign mercenary players that just do what their agents tell them. Despotic regimes buying clubs to launder their image or literally launder money.
    The game is a tedious, santized, but hugely profitable business where the action on the pitch is almost secondary to profitability.

    • @collydub1987
      @collydub1987 Před 10 měsíci +2

      I feel ya. Pick a team from league 2 or the national league and follow them. It has old school vibes.

  • @abelabel3664
    @abelabel3664 Před 10 měsíci +26

    Since you enjoy sports, can you consider making a video about how sports are used to legitimize nation-states and stir feelings of nationalism and how it doesn't have to be this way? That'd be an interesting analysis in my opinion. Cheers.

  • @snakesnoteyes
    @snakesnoteyes Před 10 měsíci +32

    Morocco has had two back to back amazing WC performances (Men’s Cup and Women’s Cup) and they seem like they’re just very invested in the game and their teams, and there is real excitement for the game in Morocco. The Philippines have no soccer culture at all, they couldn’t care less about the game. I’d be more upset about any Cup in The Philippines 🇵🇭 than a Cup in Morocco, which outside of having funded teams, also has a history of their top talent going to France for colonial reasons.

    • @everythingsfine1395
      @everythingsfine1395 Před 10 měsíci

      Morocco just uses their ultra nationalism propaganda to get the players from europe who have moroccan origins to play for national team .and the joke is morocco doesn’t really support home talent even tho they have alot . Saudi is way better at it player and academic policies

    • @losnino4515
      @losnino4515 Před 10 měsíci +5

      Most of moroccan players are foreign born,
      More than 70% for the men's team and 100% for the women's team.
      Most of the French football players are french born and raised mainly from the paris region and the french overseas territories.

    • @snakesnoteyes
      @snakesnoteyes Před 10 měsíci +1

      @@losnino4515 I’m going to retract my previous position, because hosting a Cup can bring new people to the game, and soccer is for everyone.

    • @user-ve7hn2dh8h
      @user-ve7hn2dh8h Před 10 měsíci +5

      ​@@losnino4515French overseas territory huh? Which hasn't been existing for a long time and players from there can definitely not be called French born

    • @anti-arbiter7754
      @anti-arbiter7754 Před 10 měsíci +2

      Slightly confused on the France thing since the Philippines was colonised by Spain never by France.

  • @kerimstandup
    @kerimstandup Před 10 měsíci +41

    Haven't European clubs been doing the same thing with South American players?

    • @evilkhamzat
      @evilkhamzat Před 10 měsíci +9

      YES! Especially the Premier League! Which coming from Kav a Brentford and United fan is peak irony 😂😂😂

    • @Support-your-local-team
      @Support-your-local-team Před 10 měsíci +9

      Spending obscene amounts of blood money that drives up the costs and also the inequality of football is what the EPL has been doing for years.

    • @fckyo9197
      @fckyo9197 Před 10 měsíci +2

      ​@@Support-your-local-teamyeah, alot of blood money in Europe

    • @mgm8255
      @mgm8255 Před 10 měsíci +3

      Yep, that's what makes me mad about "Saudi is killing football", like if capitalism hasn't got the core of everything. Sadly, people on here want a change on our leagues but they are too "lazy" to support them, we have been watching European leagues since birth and Europe and the yankees have the money, it's complecated to make a change (and can't blame them too, our leagues' level is bs)

    • @vsmith1688
      @vsmith1688 Před 10 měsíci +6

      TBF, the South American domestic leagues have historically not paid well at all. (Comparatively) Unless you play for one of the big clubs in Brazil or Argentina, it’s unlikely you’re even making 6 figures. So the European money is a lot harder to turn down.

  • @SeasonedRookie
    @SeasonedRookie Před 10 měsíci +33

    Probably due to it being a global game, the wider football world often feels incredibly conservative. It’s nice to hear from a lefty fan for a change. I share a lot of your same sentiments. I still love the game but I’d lie if I said I wasn’t worried about where it’s been going for the past many years.

    • @user-py7hr8ni8h
      @user-py7hr8ni8h Před 10 měsíci +4

      Fotball has always been very left wing, unions/activisme etc

    • @nas84payne
      @nas84payne Před 8 měsíci

      @@user-py7hr8ni8hYep. Working class at its core.

  • @nameisamine
    @nameisamine Před 10 měsíci +6

    The era of football clubs representing working class communities has been in the rear view mirror for quite some time now. 😅 This is the new normal.

  • @nathanabraha2896
    @nathanabraha2896 Před 10 měsíci +16

    Modern football has been morally corrupt since the start of the Premier League which itself was a breakaway by the biggest clubs in England in order to maximize viewership etc but at the heart of it was a desire to maximize profit, at the time in the 90s Seria A was the biggest league in the world with owners and money others couldn't compete with, players from around the world flocked to Italy, the same way they would do to England as the 2000s came along. Investment has been scrappping the sport's heart for decades, Saudi's recent investment is the most mask off moment in football history, as its the final comfirmation, if any was needed, that football is for the priviliged, gone away from its working class roots, it has been gutted and left to die.

    • @LightiningHobo
      @LightiningHobo Před 10 měsíci +1

      A lot of people are afraid of what all that Saudi money will do to european football. But we do not have to speculate what could happen, we've seen it happen in the past. We just have to look at what european football did to South american football. Brazil and Argentina had some of the best players and thus they had some of the best national tournaments in the world. They still have great talents but no team can even come close to the budget of a top european team. Maybe with Italy, which is the lowest spending of the big european tournaments. But the talent drain towards Italy continues.
      And now players are leaving earlier and earlier since european teams started paying more and more for younger and younger players. The big sin of the Saudi league is doing to Europeans what they do to other countries. The sin is to threaten to be an actually competitor to europe.

  • @hencent
    @hencent Před 10 měsíci +10

    Yeah to a certain extend I agree with you about the problem of big money directing the flow of football players, but it does kind of make me laugh that somebody from the UK is just now talking about this. The Premier League has been the major culprit in just buying up the best players from smaller leagues (like the Eredivisie), and I'm not even talking about the best players in the first team! The way they have destroyed talented young players, by scooping them up at a young age, putting them into a cycle of loaning them out to a different club every year, has been awful to see. To me, this is even more immoral then buying up adult players with obscene amounts of money, because these youngsters get offers from Prem clubs that are obscene amounts of money for 16 year old kids, with parents that probably also haven't experienced having these amounts of money.
    And I do like the Prem, been watching since the Invincibles. The UK has the most claim to being the motherland of football, if you look at the more than 100 years of football culture that has developed from the ground up. But seeing some players leave for Saudi Arabia has been kind of sweet with regards to how they have been the major capitalist influence in Europe for at least 2 decades (which has largely been dominated by clubs propped up by big money, not only Prem clubs).

  • @Alex-cw3rz
    @Alex-cw3rz Před 10 měsíci +6

    I'm a Bolton Wanderers fan, we used to be in the Premier League missed opportunity, bad timing, bad signings, injuries and sadly Muamba. Dropped the club out of the Premier League and we haven't made it back since and it's no wonder the amount of money being thrown about even back then was getting out of hand, but now it is ridiculous, you could survive in the league back then if you had even under 100 million worth of players, nowadays well 400 million is no garentuee. Our goal keeper who was worth about 1 million when we had him last season has just been bought by Burnley for 15 million. Almost every player in the Premier League is worth more than our entire team put together and somehow we are meant to make it back there. We have some great owners now, who really support us even coming to most away games. However I think it would bankrupt them getting us in the top half of the championship let alone Premier League.

  • @toph8298
    @toph8298 Před 10 měsíci +8

    Capitalism had its acceptable phase in football until the late 90s/early 00s, but since then, especially with Abramovich's involvement, it has deteriorated significantly. The Premier League shoulders a significant responsibility, yet Middle Eastern funding has propelled it to the state of a bubble waiting to burst.
    The entire sport has transformed into a disheartening experience for fans due to the exorbitant prices of tickets, replica jerseys, and the steep cost of subscribing to numerous broadcasters just to access what was once available on fewer channels. The notion of competition reducing costs for the consumer hasn’t exactly come to fruition.

    • @MrAlepedroza
      @MrAlepedroza Před 9 měsíci +2

      Perfect competition does not and cannot exist in "free markets", which on their own are nothing but pipe dreams. Left unregulated, they just become the playground of the most powerful entities.

  • @TheAutumnNetwork
    @TheAutumnNetwork Před 10 měsíci +3

    That's why I tell folks to follow the smaller leagues and lower divisions. Yeah the quality isn't as high but its more pure football than the top leagues.

  • @dawoodwilliams3652
    @dawoodwilliams3652 Před 9 měsíci +2

    The Premier League and La Liga started it, Saudi Arabia is just doing what has been happening on a large scale throughout the last decade, and big league football just doesn't feel genuine anymore.

  • @NathDowns
    @NathDowns Před 10 měsíci +3

    I'm surprised by the runtime of this video, I thought it'd be your magnum opus! Brevity is a virtue so I'm not complaining. Great work as always dude.

  • @katehartley2333
    @katehartley2333 Před 10 měsíci +7

    Professional sports isn't my bag for this very reason. It's often just a way for rich criminals to launder their money and it gives the poor a slim sliver of a chance at climbing out of poverty. But thoughtful content as per usual

  • @Themlpg73
    @Themlpg73 Před 10 měsíci +3

    You are the only creator that I watch every single video from. Great job.👍

  • @Steventrafford
    @Steventrafford Před 10 měsíci +2

    Morning Kav 👍. This is a subject that really interests me❤

  • @sinenomine6180
    @sinenomine6180 Před 10 měsíci +8

    I'm not a football fan but I'm a cricket and Aussie Rules Football fan and this does concern me, especially with cricket. Fortunately, the Saudis aren't too interested in the AFL as far as I can tell.

    • @adeel-eh7xq
      @adeel-eh7xq Před 10 měsíci

      ​@261i7 it's not really a popular sport over there. The only people who may enjoy it over there are Southeast Asian labourers, and they're seen as human refuse over there so their tastes probably won't be taken up further.

    • @Kate-ms2mn
      @Kate-ms2mn Před 10 měsíci +1

      Nobody is interested in AFL

    • @TheReddShinobi13
      @TheReddShinobi13 Před 10 měsíci +2

      ​@Kate-ms2mn a lot of Americans have been getting into it. I really enjoy it.

    • @themajesticspider-man6116
      @themajesticspider-man6116 Před 10 měsíci

      @@261i7 Well here's hoping they don't then.

  • @zolaeight7574
    @zolaeight7574 Před 10 měsíci +4

    When European nations ruined leagues all over the world by offering insane amounts of money football was just fine I guess. Nothing to see here.

  • @lloroshastar6347
    @lloroshastar6347 Před 10 měsíci +6

    On the flipside though, what if climate change makes Saudi Arabia virtually unlivable?

    • @0niXin0
      @0niXin0 Před 10 měsíci

      Saudi produces the most drinkable water in the world so not only might they hold out through climate change, they'll still hold power even if the world went green

  • @TIENxSHINHAN
    @TIENxSHINHAN Před 10 měsíci +3

    North Korea has the reputation for being the weird, upside down country where a dictator forces everyone to live these ridiculous lives but I think Saudi Arabia deserves that title.
    I've never been to either country but Saudi Arabia seems much more bizarre to me.

  • @elftax
    @elftax Před 10 měsíci +5

    A national fund should not be allowed to buy a club, its a national entity, why dont they create a better national team?

  • @craiggoodfellow1248
    @craiggoodfellow1248 Před 10 měsíci +1

    Brilliant video young man!
    Had no idea of your love (and skills) of the game.
    Totally agree with your points.

  • @user-qw3ob3tf9u
    @user-qw3ob3tf9u Před 10 měsíci +4

    Used to work for Haaretz Sports. I remember editing a really insightful article about the insane monopoly man city now hold on real estate in the city of Manchester. The article's paywalled now i think, but if i recall correctly, they're basically landlords for half the city now. If have some local contacts/articles that could help you cover the topic, that would probably work really well as a video as well.

  • @memeverse9000
    @memeverse9000 Před 10 měsíci +6

    I think EPL Football was f-d when clubs like Chelsea was sold to shady people. This is just the next logical step

  • @russellward4624
    @russellward4624 Před 10 měsíci +3

    Could you explain how you see "sportswashing" in practice? Because i dont see it. Whos opinion of Saudia Arabia gets changed? Ive onky ever seen the oposite. That middle eastern clubs get more negative press not less. Every sports journalist who never ever ever talks about human rights suddenly talk about it when a middle eastern club takes over. So the negativity has increased not lessened.

  • @MM-us1ru
    @MM-us1ru Před 9 měsíci +2

    Why the Europeans are so against Asia football? Football is not only limited to Europe.

  • @EliaFlowers
    @EliaFlowers Před 10 měsíci +42

    This transfer window has been nothing short of disgusting, Football already is rife with inflated prices and money laundering.
    I hope someday Kav will collab with Alfie HITC, I’m sure they would get along

    • @russellward4624
      @russellward4624 Před 10 měsíci +1

      Can you give some examples of money laundering?

    • @MrSinclairn
      @MrSinclairn Před 10 měsíci

      Alfie HITC is an opinionated clown(up his own arse),at least Kav is trying to approach this issue,with facts,no matter,how deluded! 🙄

    • @crimsonkate8241
      @crimsonkate8241 Před 10 měsíci

      All the way through this vid I was thinking "he really should have watched HITC Sevens vid on this topic beforehand" lol. Alfie is the king of the intersection between politics, corruption & football.

  • @zacharyclement1295
    @zacharyclement1295 Před 10 měsíci +7

    Very interesting! Shame to see football going down this bleak path. Unfortunately cash is always king 😢 saw an interview with Henderson recently and he said Gerrard being coach was a massive reason why he went there. Nothing to do with the 700k a week they are giving him lol

  • @pblmrt
    @pblmrt Před 10 měsíci +3

    Even MLS got the idea how to do football (despite not having a relegating which they should and their other sports upset for the NFL). Saudi doing this as an attraction. It doesn’t feel like football anymore. It’s similar to when Martin Scorsese saying MCU movies are amusement parks.

  • @willardprenfrew4303
    @willardprenfrew4303 Před 10 měsíci +1

    Very interesting! The 5% stake in Nintendo blew my mind.

  • @Spanishdog17
    @Spanishdog17 Před 10 měsíci +3

    Saudi Arabia also owns part of Capcom, Nintendo, and all of SNK. They also helped pay for the Elon Twitter buy out. They are slowly buying everything, but at the end of the day, the US and the UK continue to support them and buy their products.

  • @suzuyj
    @suzuyj Před 10 měsíci +4

    football means so much to so many people its really sad seeing this happen to leagues and teams, and it also means that leagues like Argentinas league or Brazils league fall even more behind and cant compete.

  • @meewarwoowoo
    @meewarwoowoo Před 10 měsíci +4

    Blackburn Rovers was not an "upset", they were an expression of money in football.

  • @nogoodlib
    @nogoodlib Před 10 měsíci +4

    I find this video to be incoherent. Somehow american sports (which generally have wage caps to assure one team cant buy every player, and normally dont move locations unless there are no fans in the last place) is more capitalistic than soccer... which allows you to buy all of the best players and remain at the top (for the most part). As well, its ok for a world cup to be in saudi arabia, because people like football, but its not ok for them to have a foreign roster like every other team. Which is it? People need soccer to watch or we shouldnt allow soccer in an awful government? You are all over the place, I feel like you are too close to soccer and leftist politics to make a good analysis of how they both work together.

  • @Themystergamerr
    @Themystergamerr Před 10 měsíci +4

    I'll never not chuckle at Kav's intro 😂😂 Tory, capitalist dystopia 😂😂

  • @captaintuunfuegokyle
    @captaintuunfuegokyle Před 10 měsíci +1

    you hear about the individual transfers and are annoyed but oh my god when you look at all these transfers together its almost demoralizing

  • @Vhlathanosh
    @Vhlathanosh Před 10 měsíci +3

    "How Saudi Arabia is DESTROYING Football"
    The greed started in the EPL, Saudi is just continuing with the culture. I haven't been a fan in a long time.

  • @xXMilFxHunterXx69
    @xXMilFxHunterXx69 Před 10 měsíci +2

    Howmuch does premier league spend annually on transfers?

  • @rosecity_chris
    @rosecity_chris Před 10 měsíci +3

    I used to be a huge sports fan, but literally its all become such a "product" that i dont even enjoy it anymore. Its all just become way too corporate and after colin kaepernick it all just left a bad taste in my mouth. Capitalism ruins everything.

  • @markofsaltburn
    @markofsaltburn Před 10 měsíci +2

    The quality of play has never been better, the game has never been worse.

  • @Garand81
    @Garand81 Před 10 měsíci +3

    Personally, i prefer small and local teams. That's true football for me, it feels more pure.
    The small stadiums, local fans gathering and watching their team play. It feels like football.
    Another plus is that the Saudis won't be interested because the club isn't a huge team like Real Madrid or something. They'll steer clear of it

    • @LordZontar
      @LordZontar Před 9 měsíci +2

      That's what I watch, in both forms of football, and baseball as well. Lower division, minor and amateur leagues. The big league game is little more than a staged, artificial spectacle anymore.

  • @byb7915
    @byb7915 Před 9 měsíci +3

    How is this different from English and Italian leagues buying South American football talents?? and why is your reaction not the same when USA and China did this??

  • @Support-your-local-team
    @Support-your-local-team Před 10 měsíci +2

    Football was destroyed long before Saudi Arabia got involved. Elite football was ruined a long time ago.

    • @Vhlathanosh
      @Vhlathanosh Před 10 měsíci

      @@261i7 keep telling yourself that, kid. Show me anyone with the natural kind of skill Okocha and Maradona had.

    • @Support-your-local-team
      @Support-your-local-team Před 10 měsíci

      @@261i7 Football itself isn't ruined but the Champions League football is a preposterous joke. 50 something UEFA countries eligible for a 32 team tournament that is soon to have FIVE teams from one country competing. Hundreds of top flight clubs across Europe and only a ridiculously small amount of them from a smaller set of countries will ever win it again. Even some tinpot clubs from England are now richer than former European giants. The whole thing is a mess.

  • @vitorsteuck123
    @vitorsteuck123 Před 10 měsíci +3

    Acho engraçado que o que está acontecendo na Europa é o que rolou aqui com o futebol sulamericano. Hoje em dia a coisa é tão absurda que dizem que um garoto só precisa fazer dois dribles e um gol pra eu time europeu vir aqui e já contratar ele.. A Europa já estragou o futebol aqui. A liga brasileira era uma das mais fortes do mundo, mas o dinheiro manda e todas as nossas estrelas hoje já vão jovens pra Europa. Triste demais pra gente que vive no Brasil.

  • @TKO_CEY
    @TKO_CEY Před 10 měsíci

    So how'd you feel when ivan toney got that ban for betting or something
    Im a city fan, my dad likes utd, my aunt is everton and my grandfather supported liverpool. We have a support your parents clubs rival tradition in my family

  • @Whateverandbirthyear
    @Whateverandbirthyear Před 9 měsíci +1

    The PL was doing Saudi Arabia way before Saudi Arabia

  • @thrillhouse4151
    @thrillhouse4151 Před 10 měsíci

    27:15, wow Capcom, that reminds me that there was a lavish Tekken tournament there a couple weeks ago, I know that’s Namco but still.

  • @yohannessulistyo4025
    @yohannessulistyo4025 Před 10 měsíci +2

    What this is, it is ruining the world cup.
    EPL may be the "best" football league, but England as a team is a serial choker in international level. They can't even win European competition. The English are poisoning their own domestic league, and the insular mindset of English folks also don't help them develop their talents outside their comfort zone of home league, where they lose out to foreign players. Saudi Arabia also did the same, they poisoned their own talent pool well, with easy money.
    And like American sports, money ruins the US national teams. Players are getting so expensive that there are a lot of money makers prohibiting their sports participation outside their main contractors to prevent "unnecessary injuries". A lot of players are not allowed to play in park, despite many of them wanting to, Kevin Durant famously refused to sign a contract that contains prohibition to play casual games in public court he mostly grew up with, playing pick up games with neighbourhood folks. Insurers be damned. Today, the US Men Basketball team is headlined by the likes of Jalen Brunson and Brandon Ingram, who? Where the flick is Stephen Curry or Jimmy Butler or Jayson Tatum or Devin Booker? Where the heck is the likes of Kyrie Irving or Trae Young? This is American sports entertainment, it already destroyed US baseball team too... with baseball players being more insanely more expensive than any other sports player. Mike Trout has to state it himself to play for the US national baseball team. Yet, they still got beat by Japan in the final round.
    This makes your players representing your nations, more loyal to money, not because of their conscience, but because of money interests - insurance, contractors, benefactors, investors won't allow them to do what they do best outside their spectacle.
    This is easily bad, even for the capitalist oligarchs, because sports are crowd control methods, whether you are theocracy, communist, or capitalist - class division exists. And to keep the oppressed calm, you "distract" these group with sports, religion, and stuffs like that. The Romans famously did it using chariot racing and gladiator events - that's how Gaius Julius Caesar rise to fame... not through military like Pompeii did, not through wealth like Crassus did. He peddles influence through generously sponsoring brutal "public sports" like gladiator fights and become the most powerful and influential figure in the Roman Republic. If these greedy wealthy people take away public grass root sports from the ordinary people - well, watch what will happen.

  • @Orion-rl7js
    @Orion-rl7js Před 10 měsíci +2

    I find it funny that in the USA, our Soccer clubs are all for rich kids, and the sport, ironically, compared to other countries, is much more expensive to get in, than say Basketball or (American Football).

    • @lol-ih1tl
      @lol-ih1tl Před 10 měsíci +1

      Soccer is one of the few sports which the US isn't number 1.

  • @felixbache5369
    @felixbache5369 Před 10 měsíci +1

    11:50 Ngolo Kante has made quite a career for himself despite being only a floating head and two hands

  • @powerviolentnightmare5026
    @powerviolentnightmare5026 Před 10 měsíci +3

    Well, if I was a football club I'd like to be Wrexham as far as the owners go because they genuinely seem to care about the community and not only the football.

  • @benconway6113
    @benconway6113 Před 10 měsíci

    Deserves more views mate!

  • @sarminder4357
    @sarminder4357 Před 10 měsíci +2

    Saudi Arabia also had or still has plans to expand their reach into video games and other sports like motorsports. Let's see how many things their royals can ruin

  • @maya07_11
    @maya07_11 Před 10 měsíci +1

    the concept of buying footballers is crazy, like they're real people they can't be bought💀💀

  • @Saladin06
    @Saladin06 Před 9 měsíci +1

    The premier League began this game

  • @amattyg
    @amattyg Před 7 měsíci

    I've been wanting to watch this video since you posted it a couple months ago but I was scared to. I am an American who has been a Newcastle United fan for about 15 years, this video actually has helped me come to the conclusion of not supporting NUFC at all, everytime I go to meetups here in Portland where I founded the local Toon Army chapter in 2015 I feel like the regulars who show up don't really notice the negative impact PIF has. I don't really want to support the local MLS club (or NWSL club until next year after a sale) because the current owner has enabled abusers and silenced survivors. I love this sport and there are smaller grassroots clubs in Portland that I've considered supporting and now that sounds like a better solution. I've thought about becoming a Liverpool fan often because of the fanbase and I have a decent amount of friends here who are Liverpool supporters that said they'd welcome me when I'm ready, my fear is that Liverpool could be bought by someone with poor morals eventually as well. I believe that the creation of the Premeir League as a whole made all this inevitable. It really sucks.

  • @keiphysheegie
    @keiphysheegie Před 10 měsíci +3

    The English started it, but now someone else is doing it, "it's going to destroy football"?
    WTF? OK for us not for you?
    Also the English are the worst for selling their clubs to the money men

  • @jonathanchin3396
    @jonathanchin3396 Před 10 měsíci +1

    I'd love to see a football collaboration video between Kav and Alfie from HITC Sevens some day.
    As awful as the Saudi regime is, its sovereign wealth fund has been making investments in the biggest companies in the world, many of whom we're all familiar with, so taking a moral stand against them will only become increasingly difficult.

  • @lordjustinian2913
    @lordjustinian2913 Před 10 měsíci

    The weird thing is that in Football, having the best domestic league doesn't actually make your country the best at football, Japan is still going to be the best Asian team in the world, mainly because their league is incredibly local, and was built from the ground up and they have a decent international team and yes they are a Soft Capitalist league because like Korea, companies can own entire teams but unusually they tend to be local companies not foreign entities, Australia is also a Soft Capitalist league country although we do have one team that is Hard Capitalist and that is Melbourne City.
    I would use the Netherlands as an example of a country that is generally good in Europe due to local focus and also partly position because a Dutch player can go to 3 of the big 5 leagues pretty easily.

  • @BrimmJobb
    @BrimmJobb Před 10 měsíci +3

    What about Ryan Reynolds and Rob Mcelhenney pretty sure they own a fc just curious on those thoughts.

    • @justhannah3960
      @justhannah3960 Před 10 měsíci

      Yes, and I'm sure it's very exciting for the fans. But Wrexham are in League 2 and I can't imagine their owners (the actors) taking them anywhere near the Premier League. There's no way they can compete with teams owned by actual nation states.

    • @AholeAtheist
      @AholeAtheist Před 10 měsíci

      What about them?

  • @mannyman0423
    @mannyman0423 Před 10 měsíci +1

    I am sorry to say but the Premier League has been doing what the Saudi League is doing for years. Buying players from other leagues but nobody lost their shit

  • @yenziwemotha3049
    @yenziwemotha3049 Před 9 měsíci +2

    Lol why is Saudi Arabia suddenly ruining football but the Prem isn't??

  • @Para2normal
    @Para2normal Před 10 měsíci +12

    As a lifelong Man City supporter I hate what has been done to my club. The book "Richer than God " by David Conn described my feelings towards Man City pretty accurately.

    • @evilkhamzat
      @evilkhamzat Před 10 měsíci +3

      You have enjoyed the success don’t lie 😂😂😂

    • @killnj6071
      @killnj6071 Před 10 měsíci +2

      Liar

  • @FoxSt3v3
    @FoxSt3v3 Před 10 měsíci

    good shit Kav

  • @LVC85costa
    @LVC85costa Před 10 měsíci +2

    Just another thing capitalism has ruined, next to gaming, movies etc. After Klopp I may just hang up my football watching boots.

  • @itsirrelephantman
    @itsirrelephantman Před 10 měsíci +2

    I used to play Sunday league when I was kid and I won player of the year, best achievement ever, i still bring it up any chance I get lol
    I coulda been a contender! 😊

  • @marianodebian
    @marianodebian Před 10 měsíci +2

    Finally a Left argument i can get behind...
    Messi > Ronaldo

  • @Mrballerize
    @Mrballerize Před 10 měsíci +4

    One thing I like about basketball is that each team has spending caps, which helps to prevent super teams. Soccer/Football would need to make some kind of spending cap to stop Saudi Arabia.

    • @wosamosman9814
      @wosamosman9814 Před 10 měsíci

      Good luck with that since Saudi Arabia follows the Asian FA and they're are a very influential member in it 😅😂

  • @juckyvortex
    @juckyvortex Před 10 měsíci +1

    Are those players short sighted that the danger of them walking into clubs is so big?

  • @Gordon.Pinkerton
    @Gordon.Pinkerton Před 10 měsíci

    I get your points about US sports being the worst, but there are some aspects of their sports that are less capitalistic, and perhaps fairer. I'm thinking the draft system and salary caps, things that make it far easier for any team to win the league, and not just a small group of teams that always sit at the top of the pile, like is the case with most European football leagues.
    You praise Germany, and there is a lot to like about their system, like fan ownership, but it's also contributed to nobody being able to put up a sustained challenge to Bayern's near total dominance (aside from Dortmund, here and there)

  • @captaintuunfuegokyle
    @captaintuunfuegokyle Před 10 měsíci

    i'm a liverpool fan and i'm devastated about henderson

  • @redrickoshea
    @redrickoshea Před 10 měsíci +3

    Football was ruined years ago

  • @mrlunar62
    @mrlunar62 Před 10 měsíci +1

    Saudi is doing exactly what the US has been doing for decades now. The only difference is that saudi has less presence in the world of football but that’s it.

  • @SmartDave60
    @SmartDave60 Před 10 měsíci +1

    Great content.
    Question: can these Saudi leagues make money if they’re routinely paying players close to a billion dollars per season?
    Where’s the return on investment?

    • @evilkhamzat
      @evilkhamzat Před 10 měsíci

      They have fans and they just signed a new tv deal

    • @SmartDave60
      @SmartDave60 Před 10 měsíci +2

      @@evilkhamzat ok so according to the Saudi government the league's revenues was US$120 million last year and they hope to increase to US$480 million by 2030.
      Well, they’re paying Ronaldo $200 million/season right now!
      The math ain’t mathing man.

    • @princemwamba5230
      @princemwamba5230 Před 10 měsíci

      ​@@SmartDave60it's a case of take the big hit now to win big in the long term.

    • @caffetiel
      @caffetiel Před 10 měsíci

      ​@@SmartDave60 they're building for the future. Big investment now, payoffs sometime in the future. Generating that domestic economy and demand is more important than a few petrodollars.

    • @osamarja4685
      @osamarja4685 Před 10 měsíci

      in my simple understading of economics, these wages will return to saudi's gdp organically so it is a win win.
      @@SmartDave60

  • @beccathebruh
    @beccathebruh Před 10 měsíci

    Tbh I’m here for the football content and would like to see more!

  • @davestewart735
    @davestewart735 Před 10 měsíci +1

    Finding it endlessly hilarious and sad that the country that did 9/11 just bought pro golf.
    That’s like… travel back in time to ruin someone’s day in 2002 sort of information.

  • @Nawaf-qk9mu
    @Nawaf-qk9mu Před 10 měsíci +2

    Weeping from the seeds you sow, classic westerner.

  • @mr.sushi2221
    @mr.sushi2221 Před 10 měsíci +1

    Be honest. Would u rather have it like it used to be where one country was on top every 10 years or so or how it is now. Honestly I wish it was how it was before I was able to watch football. lol as a Real Madrid fan I’m still not worried.

  • @TheReddShinobi13
    @TheReddShinobi13 Před 10 měsíci

    I would love a Kavernacle sports channel. Beyond Man U and Brentford who else do you follow/support?

    • @TheKavernacle
      @TheKavernacle  Před 10 měsíci

      I just have picked teams I like from different leagues - Serie A - Inter/Roma, Ligue 1 - Monaco, MLS - LAFC,

  • @lentzs.3595
    @lentzs.3595 Před 10 měsíci

    hey bro its wild how fast the UK government switched up when just after a year when the the super league talks was shaking uefa/europe to its core, boris johnson proposed to throw a legislative bomb at the english teams in the super league. he was proposing making it more difficult for foreign players to get VISAS. i found that to be a funny solution because to many of the top english teams' best players are the foreign ones and the top managers in the prem aren't english/british either
    furthermore i would have loved to hear your critique of the premier league and the discourse around it in 1992. that is probably the best example of english football industrializing. that leaning into capitalism is what created the conditions for chelsea to be bought by a russian oligarch and fast forward 20 years newcastle gets bought by a nation state.

  • @katemccoll5308
    @katemccoll5308 Před 10 měsíci +1

    In the States college sports are the closest we have to European style clubs maybe aside from the Packers who are part owned by the fans. Though college sports is moving towards pro style now

  • @tsp1999
    @tsp1999 Před 10 měsíci

    Sensible World of Soccer: European Champions is such a classic

  • @breedersbox1073
    @breedersbox1073 Před 9 měsíci +1

    What did europe did to latin america earlier is what saudi is going to do to europe.
    But i would say this will only benifit football as you might know the asian population is much much bigger than the european population.

  • @zljmbo
    @zljmbo Před 10 měsíci +2

    I was hoping you will talk about female football, and issues with France and Muslim woman

  • @spittingame4241
    @spittingame4241 Před 10 měsíci +1

    @12:08 Why does he look like a bad guy in GTA V?