The Qatari Investment Authority, who are they?

• The Qatari Investment Authority has made headlines in the football world in the recent weeks
• The consortium is interested in buying a Premier League club and is one of the richest in the world
• SportsLeo looks at what adds up as the Qatari Investment Authority is and their networth

Fans are far more aware of what an owner can contribute and what they may take away as a result of the Middle Eastern wealth’s acquisition of clubs like Manchester City, Paris Saint-Germain, and Newcastle United as well as the demise of a club like Bury.

The two most prominent clubs in the world, Liverpool and Manchester United, are practically up for sale, according to the most recent significant news in professional football regarding owners. This implies that buying either club or both has been associated with riches of all kinds. Additionally, it is rumoured that Tottenham Hotspur could be purchased.

The QIA (Qatar Investment Authority) is one organization that has been closely associated with both clubs. What that is and how much money it has are explained here.

What is the Qatar Investment Authority?

Another Premier League club could come under the ownership of a middle eastern consortium as the Qatari Investment Authority seeks to buy one club. | PHOTO: 90 MIN |

In Doha, the capital of Qatar, there is a sovereign wealth fund called the QIA. It was established in 2005. It was established by the state of Qatar in an effort to boost that nation’s economy. The nation can indirectly engage in other corporate ventures, such as owning a prosperous sports team, by having a separate wealth fund.

The Saudi Arabian Public Investment Fund, which bought Newcastle United, and it are identical in concept.

Mansoor bin Ebrahim Al-Mahmoud, the QIA’s chief executive, acknowledged that the fund’s entry into the football industry is a very real possibility. A global investment firm, with investments covering all significant global markets, asset classes, industries, and locations, according to its website.

Al-Mahmoud stated in a Bloomberg interview that “football, the clubs, and the sport is becoming quite commercialized in a way – especially now that fans are viewing this as an event so they can enjoy themselves.

“At the same time, digitalisation is becoming very important for this. So the business model of these institutions is becoming very commercialised and very investment friendly. You will not be surprised if we invest in this.

“We have not made our mind yet but this is a very commercially-driven decision that we go through. And, again, sports is becoming a very important theme as well, people are engaged more in a sport and digitalisation is making it more attractive to investors.”

The worth of QIA

The Sovereign Wealth Fund Institute claims that QIA currently has assets valued at $475,000,000,000 (£379bn). Twitter and the London department store Harrods are two of their investments made with such capital.

There was much discussion about how wealthy Newcastle’s owner was compared to Manchester City, but QIA is even wealthier than the Saudi Arabian PIF. They are valued at about $430 billion.

Although it is thought that their current interest in Premier League clubs is centred on purchasing a minority stake, this scenario frequently results in a full purchase in the future. Their connections to the Premier League are made even more intriguing by the fact that QIA is the central organization that controls Paris Saint-Germain.

Qatar Sports Investments, a division of QIA, is the owner of PSG. These are the lines that get hazy when sports washing is attempted. PSG would argue that QSI is not the same as the Qatari leadership, but they are all components of the same system, which means that countries are in fact the owners of football teams.