Has football’s last hermit nation opened up to the world?

 Privatisation of Saudi football clubs and investment platform opens up the Kingdom to foreign investors.

Saudi Arabia is the Middle East’s most successful football nation and an Asian football powerhouse but questions remain about its human rights record and respect for rule of law.

Changes part of a wider strategy that may culminate in a World Cup bid or the creation of an international sports broadcast network.

“Saudi Arabia is a young, very young population, an economic driver in the region. On the face of it, investing in Saudi sport would be a no brainer,” one expert says.

But despite all the massive opportunities there is also another side of the coin.