Saudi Arabia to end LIV Golf funding as sports investment strategy shifts

Saudi Arabia’s decision to end Public Investment Fund backing of LIV Golf after the 2026 season is more than a golf story. It is a test of whether the kingdom’s sports push, built on prestige, disruption and political signaling, is now being forced to answer a colder question: can it make money?

The shift comes as the PIF said its 2026-2030 strategy will focus on maximizing financial returns, strengthening investment efficiency and increasing private-sector participation. It has also reorganized its investments into three portfolios, Vision, Strategic and Financial, a sign that the fund is trying to rank projects by commercial logic rather than by headline value alone.

LIV Golf, founded in 2021 and launched in 2022 as a rival to the PGA Tour, has been one of Saudi Arabia’s most visible sports bets. The league agreed a merger framework with the PGA Tour in 2023, but the deal has still not been completed. CNBC reported that LIV has already postponed a New Orleans tournament scheduled for late June, formed a committee of independent directors to evaluate strategic alternatives and plans to seek new long-term financial partners and new board members as it tries to move beyond exclusive dependence on Saudi money.

The economics have been brutal. CNBC reported LIV’s non-U.S. operations lost nearly $600 million in 2024, even after the league signed new broadcast partnerships in 2025 with FOX, IVT, DAZN and KC Global Media. LIV says it is on pace to generate $100 million more in year-over-year revenue during the 2026 season. But that improvement has not been enough to stop the PIF from drawing a line under direct funding after next year, after more than $5 billion poured into the league since launch.

The move does not mean Saudi Arabia is abandoning sports. Broader estimates put its spending on sports properties since 2016 at about $51 billion, and the portfolio stretches well beyond golf to Newcastle United, Formula 1, boxing, tennis, esports, wrestling, motorsports and snooker. Saudi Arabia bought Newcastle United in 2021 through the PIF, and reporting in April 2026 said there was “no change” in the club’s long-term plan, including further PIF-backed work on a new training ground near the city’s airport.

That is why LIV matters so much. If the kingdom is trimming one of its most high-profile sports assets, the question is not whether Saudi Arabia is leaving the field. It is whether the era of blank-check disruption is ending, replaced by a sharper demand that every sports investment justify itself on commercial terms.