Nike To Boost Fitness In Saudi Arabia As It Joins Forces With SFA

American sports giant Nike Inc. will help the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia boost its fitness sector through activations and athletic engagement programmes.

The multinational corporation, known for sponsoring high-profile athletes and sports teams around the world, signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the kingdom’s Saudi Sports For All Federation (SFA) to encourage sport participation in the Gulf country.

The new partnership builds on an existing relationship that saw Nike support the Saudi Greens team in New York and Copenhagen during their Global Goals World Cup participation.

According to the MoU, Nike will support Saudi community sports groups, develop running and fitness programmes and explore further collaboration around existing sporting events.

SFA President Prince Khaled bin Alwaleed bin Talal Al Saud said the federation is committed to “catalyzing Saudi society to be active and join the ranks of those already living a healthy lifestyle”.

He added: “This collaboration with Nike will allow us to develop a range of different sports”.

The new partnership aims to empower people in the kingdom to pursue a healthy and balanced lifestyle in line with Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 to create a vibrant society, according to Mohammad A. Baker, deputy chairman and CEO of Gulf Marketing Group (GMG), Nike’s distributor in Saudi Arabia and the wider GCC.

The SFA is a community sport and wellness organisation that focuses on increasing physical activity and health and wellness metrics across the country.

It plays a key role in Vision 2030’s Quality of Life programme, and boasts more than one million weekly participants in its 80 community sports groups around the kingdom.

SFA’s managing director, Shaima Saleh Alhusseini, said: “The SFA and Nike share a common vision of fitness participation across all demographics. Similarly, both entities champion a diverse range of sporting programmes as an important tenet in facilitating a healthy, active lifestyle”.