PIF committed to Newcastle amid LIV Golf investment fears
Newcastle United's majority owners, the Saudi Arabian Public Investment Fund (PIF), are set to withdraw their funding for LIV Golf, which has thrown up more doubt about their commitment to the Premier League club.
There's no denying that the PIF's visibility has decreased since the 2021 takeover, but they were never meant to be the face of the new era, only the bank.
David Hopkinson is the current face of the club following Amanda Staveley and Darren Eales, so as long as we keep seeing the Canadian around the club, there's no real need to panic.
However, Newcastle fans have been getting a little nervous after The Financial Times reported that the PIF have a new investment strategy, part of which will see them either pull completely out of LIV Golf, or significantly reduce their holdings following their initial £3.7bn investment in 2021.
PIF have restructured their investment strategy
The PIF invested heavily in LIV Golf in the same year it bought into Newcastle United as part of a global initiative to break into world sports (seen by many as sportswashing).
So, for them to announce their pulling their backing out of one big sports venture, combined with the PIF also selling off its stake in several Saudi Pro League clubs, there has naturally been some concern that Newcastle could be next.
However, it was only a couple of weeks ago that David Hopkinson was talking ot reporters about the club's finances and goals, and there was no hint that the PIF were wavering at all.
Indeed, The Chronicle and the Shields Gazette have both reported today that the PIF remains committed to the project.
Can we just have some communication?
We don't need to see Yasir Al-Rumayyan at every home game, but a periodical check-in wouldn't be such a bad idea, even if it's just some form of messaging through the club that things are on track or not. Just keep us informed.
Communication from the top to the fans goes a long way. We appreciated it when Amanda Staveley and Mehrdad Ghodoussi were so accessible and spoke to fans about their aspirations for the club, but once they were pushed out, that line of communication was slowly closed off.
Now we have to rely on minutes from Fan Advisory Board meetings and the odd interview when the hierarchy feels like it.
While we're on the subject ... what's happening with the training ground and stadium?
