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. James Montague is an award-winning author and journalist from Chelmsford, Essex, who has reported regularly for the New York Times, BBC World Service, The Athletic, CNN, and Delayed Gratification, amongst others, from over 100 different countries and unrecognised territories. He is the author of four highly praised football books including Thirty One Nil: On the Road With Football's Outsiders, and The Billionaires Club: The Unstoppable Rise of Football's Super-Rich Owners, both of which won Football Book of the Year at the British Sports Book of the Year Awards. His most recent book, Engulfed, was shortlisted for the William Hill Sports Book prize. His work has been translated into over a dozen languages. He lives in Istanbul. 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. Sportswashing, and in particular Saudi's investment in football and golf, has been one of the mainstays of the sports headlines over the past couple of years. The state's intention to accelerate this and move into other sports will only keep this as a hot talking point over the next few years Primarily appeals to sports fans but given the implications on international and domestic politics, broadens this out to a wider audience Author is an award-winning writer who is one of the leading investigative journalists on the Middle East
