‘Self-sustaining’ financial model Shura Council set to debate sports fund proposal with private investment plans

TDT | Manama
Email : editor@newsofbahrain.com

A state-backed sports fund with the power to buy stakes in private businesses is up for debate in the Shura Council today, with lawmakers weighing up a plan that would push Bahrain’s sports financing away from government funding and into the world of commercial investment.

The proposed fund, which would sit under the General Sports Authority (GSA), is meant to bankroll sports through business ventures and sponsorships, cutting down reliance on public money.

The 19-article draft law sets out a framework for governance, funding, and investments and allows the fund to set up or take ownership in private companies to keep cash.

Long-term aim
While it would start with state support, the long-term aim is to stand on its own feet, drawing in corporate backers and channeling profits back into sports facilities, training, and national teams. It’s a marked shift from the usual way of doing things.

Rather than seeing sports as a government-funded community service, this plan treats it as a self-sustaining economic driver.

Shura’s Youth Affairs committee argues that bringing businesses into the mix will expand Bahrain’s sports economy, draw in private capital, and help move the country away from its long-standing dependence on oil revenue.

Promise
One clause outlines the fund’s ability to start companies or invest in existing ones, with a promise that every dinar made will go back into sports infrastructure, development, and elite competition. Supporters say this would shift the financial model, allowing sports clubs and regulatory bodies to operate commercially.

While the government will provide initial funding, the fund is meant to become self-sustaining over time.