Engulfed

How Saudi Arabia Bought Sport, and the World: SHORTLISTED FOR THE WILLIAM HILL PRIZE AND SPORTS BOOKS AWARDS
An in-depth look at how the murder of Jamal Khashoggi sped up the Saudi state's involvement and investment in sport and how following the blueprint of similar activities from other Gulf states, was used as a way of quickly repairing Mohammed bin Salman's reputation.

SHORTLISTED FOR THE SPORTS BOOK AWARDS 2026
SHORTLISTED FOR THE WILLIAM HILL SPORTS BOOK OF THE YEAR 2025

'Bravura on the ground reporting' - David Goldblatt, award-winning author of The Ball is Round

'This is an important book' - Simon Kuper, bestselling author of Soccernomics, Chums and Barça

'Compelling' - The Times

'A subtle examination of the complex interplay between global ambition, economic power, and ethical considerations' - MoneyWeek

'A comprehensive and shocking account' - When Saturday Comes
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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?

Engulfed 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.

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, Engulfed 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.

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