Heads Will Roll: Saudi Arabia Suffer Shock Loss to Minnow Neighbours! #FIFArabCup

#FIFArabCup: Saudi Arabia (FIFA ranking: 48) are humiliated by neighbours Jordan (91) in the first real shock of the FIFA Arab Cup, a dress rehearsal for #Qatar2022

— ッ MEDIOLANA® EDU (@Mediolana) December 2, 2021

As the world has recently discovered, Saudi Arabian football effectively possesses a budget of near-infinity, but this has not stopped their national side falling to an agricultural and deeply limited Jordanian team #FIFAArabCup #FIFArabCup

— ッ MEDIOLANA® EDU (@Mediolana) December 2, 2021

Analysis: the #FIFArabCup is replete with a number of intriguing political sub-plots; a poor Saudi showing at the tournament would be a genuine soft power blow to a nation whose PR credentials have been generally feeble for decades #SaudiArabia

— ッ MEDIOLANA® EDU (@Mediolana) December 2, 2021

To watch: despite their rocky start to the #FIFArabCup, Saudi Arabia remain in pole position to qualify for next year's FIFA World Cup in Qatar; the main objective – should qualification be secured – will be to avoid a globally-observed lashing #Qatar2022 https://t.co/SMSlXhHAhf

— ッ MEDIOLANA® EDU (@Mediolana) December 2, 2021

Ranking Hypocrisy: World Bank Suspends Own Index Over Data Irregularities!

Financial Times: the World Bank has suspended publication of its global business climate index after identifying data 'irregularities' potentially affecting the rankings of China, Azerbaijan, Saudi Arabia and the UAE #worldbank #IMF

— ッ MEDIOLANA® EDU (@Mediolana) August 30, 2020

In a dramatic move, the world's lender of last resort has called for a 'systematic review' of its five most recent Doing Business reports, promising to retrospectively correct 'erroneous' data #WorldBank #IMF #economics

— ッ MEDIOLANA® EDU (@Mediolana) August 30, 2020

Analysis: the latest World Bank/IMF data scandal follows the apparent manipulation in the 2018 report, which saw chief economist Paul Romer resign after alleging that Chile's #socialist government was 'punished' by a sudden ranking slide; the index's credibility may be at stake

— ッ MEDIOLANA® EDU (@Mediolana) August 30, 2020

To watch: the perceived value of indices such as the Doing Business lies in their accuracy and transparency; the World Bank/IMF's recognition of this is in its own best interests https://t.co/bisMlaSHl5 #business #transparency #corruption

— ッ MEDIOLANA® EDU (@Mediolana) August 30, 2020

Oil Be Blowed: International Investors Have Second Thoughts on Saudi Aramco!

FT: #Saudi Arabia has drastically scaled back the initial public offering of Saudi Aramco after a tepid response from international investors #KSA #AramcoIPO

— ッ MEDIOLANA® EDU (@Mediolana) November 24, 2019

The secretive kingdom is now looking to raise between US$24bn (€21.78bn) and US$25.6bn (€23.24bn) from the listing, which will float just 1.5% of its total shares #AramcoIPO #SaudiArabia

— ッ MEDIOLANA® EDU (@Mediolana) November 24, 2019

Analysis: beyond the official reasoning, there have been serious reservations expressed about ceding control of the prize national fiscal asset in a legendarily undiversified economy #SaudiArabia #KSA

— ッ MEDIOLANA® EDU (@Mediolana) November 24, 2019

To watch: Saudi Aramco's more modest IPO ambitions will still see it become the largest listed company in the world – overtaking #Apple – a sign that true #global ecological #sustainability remains a distant dream on so many levels #AramcoIPO https://t.co/r7UeWmejgv

— ッ MEDIOLANA® EDU (@Mediolana) November 24, 2019

Oil Be Blowed: Qatar Exit Rocks #OPEC!

#Qatar has announced that it will withdraw from #OPEC in 01/2019, further underlining that the dramatic split with Saudi Arabia – and, to a lesser degree, the UAE – is becoming permanent #GCC

— ッ MEDIOLANA® EDU (@Mediolana) December 3, 2018

#Qatar's decision to exit the 15-member oil-producing bloc in 01/2019 was accompanied by a stinging critique of #OPEC from former primer minister Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim Al Thani, who branded the organisation 'useless'

— ッ MEDIOLANA® EDU (@Mediolana) December 3, 2018

Analysis: #Qatar is ripping up the international relations #textbook by not yielding to the will of a much more powerful neighbour; the presence of a new Turkish military base in Doha may have bolstered Qatari #confidence

— ッ MEDIOLANA® EDU (@Mediolana) December 3, 2018

To watch: with #Qatar's departure from #OPEC leaving a vacancy in the bloc, #Russia may yet be tempted to enhance its coordination with other key oil producers by becoming OPEC's newest member https://t.co/SEfr0pbslg

— ッ MEDIOLANA® EDU (@Mediolana) December 3, 2018

Saudi Glasnost Latest: World Cup Hopefuls Seconded to La Liga!

A controversial deal between La Liga, the Saudi Arabian Football Federation + the General Sports Authority of Saudi Arabia has seen the transfer of nine #KSA players to Spanish clubs in the hope of gaining vital experience prior to the start of the 2018 FIFA #WorldCup in #Russia

— ッ MEDIOLANA® EDU (@Mediolana) March 9, 2018

The most notable loan deals are Yahya Al-Shehri's move from Al-Nassr to CD Leganés, Al-Ittihad icon Fahad Al-Muwallad's registration with Levante UD and Salem Al-Dawsari's shuttling from Al-Hlial to Villarreal CF; adding to the intrigue is that all three players are wingers #edu

— ッ MEDIOLANA® EDU (@Mediolana) March 9, 2018

The most notable loan deals are Yahya Al-Shehri's move from Al-Nassr to CD Leganés, Al-Ittihad icon Fahad Al-Muwallad's registration with Levante UD and Salem Al-Dawsari's shuttling from Al-Hlial to Villarreal CF; adding to the intrigue is that all three players are wingers #edu

— ッ MEDIOLANA® EDU (@Mediolana) March 9, 2018

La Liga's reassurances that the sudden influx of Saudi loanees into the Spanish pyramid 'follows a rigorous scouting programme' has failed to convince many observers, with the local players' union opining that the moves '[sacrifice] the essence of this #sport' #WorldCup2018 #edu

— ッ MEDIOLANA® EDU (@Mediolana) March 9, 2018

Analysis: Saudi Arabia are desperate to avoid a repeat of their insipid showings at France '98, Korea/Japan 2002 and Germany 2006, but this flood of short-term La Liga #internships is unlikely to provide much more than a much-needed influx of cash into struggling #Spanish coffers

— ッ MEDIOLANA® EDU (@Mediolana) March 9, 2018

To watch: Saudi Arabia's abrupt cancellation and/or amelioration of certain #wahhabi dogmas is translating into crash normalisation in many sectors; whether the KSA can cope with this shift psychologically remains to be seen https://t.co/yX5rwgj5hr #LaLiga #FIFAWorldCup #KSA #edu

— ッ MEDIOLANA® EDU (@Mediolana) March 9, 2018

Painting the Continent Red: #Zlatan the Younger Helps Tokyo Team Rock Asia!

#Zlatan Ljubijankić (@Ljubijankic21) – a World Cup goalscorer for Slovenia in 2010 – features in both legs of the 2017 AFC Champions League final, finishing on the winning side as #Japan's Urawa Red Diamonds edge Al-Hilal of Saudi Arabia 2-1 over two legs #AsianCentury #Asia #AFC

— ッ MEDIOLANA® EDU (@Mediolana) November 26, 2017

A total of 116,863 spectators (59,136 in Riyadh + 57,727 in Saitama) watched the 2017 AFC Champions League final in person, richly evidencing once again the rapid development of #Asian #soccer and the extraordinary #marketing + cultural opportunities that await visionary entities

— ッ MEDIOLANA® EDU (@Mediolana) November 26, 2017

Significantly, the Asian Football Confederation is attempting to build a worldwide following for their elite competition by streaming plenty of their content – including the 2017 AFC Champions League final – live on #YouTube, seemingly with a measure of success #Asia #Media

— ッ MEDIOLANA® EDU (@Mediolana) November 26, 2017

Urawa Red Diamonds' victory is the first such triumph for a Japanese club since 2008, when the legendary Gamba Osaka side orchestrated by Yasuhito Endo crushed Adelaide United 5-0 on aggregate; winners of the four most recent editions have come from four different countries #Asia

— ッ MEDIOLANA® EDU (@Mediolana) November 26, 2017

To watch: as things stand, @Ljubijankic21 and #UrawaRedDiamonds may not be able to defend their 2017 AFC Champions League title in the 2018 competition as they are unlikely to qualify via the usual domestic routes; the AFC could yet tweak the rules to obviate this paradox #Asia

— ッ MEDIOLANA® EDU (@Mediolana) November 26, 2017

Put Your Foot Down and Drive: Troubled Kingdom ‘Has Second Thoughts’!

#SaudiArabia has passed a royal decree allowing women to drive, ending a 27-year soap opera which has cast a shadow over the country's image

— ッ MEDIOLANA® EDU (@Mediolana) September 27, 2017

#SaudiArabia's female driving ban was not a product of #Islamic doctrine, but rooted in an otherwise ignored 1990 non-binding legal opinion

— ッ MEDIOLANA® EDU (@Mediolana) September 27, 2017

The royal decree is one of a series of perestroika-style reforms which hint at Saudi Arabia's generally weak fundamentals #SaudiWomenDriving

— ッ MEDIOLANA® EDU (@Mediolana) September 27, 2017

According to the IMF, #SaudiArabia is haemorrhaging cash, while the Saudi government's own estimates forecast net oil importation by 2030

— ッ MEDIOLANA® EDU (@Mediolana) September 27, 2017

The #SaudiWomenDriving royal decree therefore has a degree of inevitability about it, especially given that c.60% of KSA graduates are women

— ッ MEDIOLANA® EDU (@Mediolana) September 27, 2017

To watch: #SaudiArabia could give more freedoms to its subjects if the economy deteriorates; instability may follow https://t.co/mk3IjKVQc8

— ッ MEDIOLANA® EDU (@Mediolana) September 27, 2017

The Mother of All Fire Sales: ‘Magic’ Kingdom Privatising Everything!

#Saudi Arabia is lining up a fire sale of state assets that rivals the 1990s dissolution of #Soviet public #wealth in scale and significance

— ッ MEDIOLANA® EDU (@Mediolana) September 14, 2017

Virtually every sector of #Saudi economic life will be up for grabs, including the lucrative sectors of retail, health + #education #edchat

— ッ MEDIOLANA® EDU (@Mediolana) September 14, 2017

Incredibly, even #Saudi Aramco – #SaudiArabia's national oil company – is being earmarked as for sale, with colossal implications #edchat

— ッ MEDIOLANA® EDU (@Mediolana) September 14, 2017

The proposed sell-offs are officially part of the Vision 2030 strategy, but only confirm that Saudi Arabia is a state in serious crisis #edu

— ッ MEDIOLANA® EDU (@Mediolana) September 14, 2017

The #Saudi budget is being throttled by low #oil prices, while diplomatically the country is facing humiliation at the hands of tiny #Qatar

— ッ MEDIOLANA® EDU (@Mediolana) September 14, 2017

To watch: KAUST is the jewel in Saudi Arabia's #highered crown and its sale could provide a temporary cash Band-Aid® https://t.co/dsyouLW7NP

— ッ MEDIOLANA® EDU (@Mediolana) September 14, 2017

Going for Broke: Pivotal Region Faces Economic Devastation!

International Monetary Fund: large parts of the Middle East could run out of cash reserves in ≤5 years owing to low oil prices #edchat #edu

— ッ MEDIOLANA® EDU (@Mediolana) June 4, 2017

#Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Iraq are three countries confronting total fiscal meltdown in the early 2020s, absent of economic diversification

— ッ MEDIOLANA® EDU (@Mediolana) June 4, 2017

IMF: even countries with higher buffers, such as the UAE, Qatar and Kuwait, are vulnerable to low #energy prices and need to get out of #oil

— ッ MEDIOLANA® EDU (@Mediolana) June 4, 2017

Some GCC states have invested hugely in #highered in recent years, but much more action is required to avoid a spectacular + sudden collapse

— ッ MEDIOLANA® EDU (@Mediolana) June 4, 2017

To watch: dwindling oil reserves in #SaudiArabia could spark further regional unrest as resource wars intensify #edu https://t.co/dWOMOG4GOr

— ッ MEDIOLANA® EDU (@Mediolana) June 4, 2017

Gun Drain, 2.0: GCC States Take Outsourcing to the Next Level!

Gulf Cooperation Council countries are having to rely on overseas #mercenaries to staff their armies, raising #sustainability question marks

— ッ MEDIOLANA® EDU (@Mediolana) May 31, 2017

NYT: wealthy #Arab nations possess citizens with little interest in military service, and so are going down the #outsourcing route #GCC #edu

— ッ MEDIOLANA® EDU (@Mediolana) May 31, 2017

Soldiers from Colombia are highly sought-after by the UAE, while Saudi Arabia has enlisted 'hundreds' of Sudanese #military personnel #LatAm

— ッ MEDIOLANA® EDU (@Mediolana) May 31, 2017

The existential question for the #GCC: is reliance on global #mercenaries symbolic of an essentially fragile, finance-based social contract?

— ッ MEDIOLANA® EDU (@Mediolana) May 31, 2017

To watch: Colombian soldiers in the UAE may have been trained in the art of putting down riots by exploited workers https://t.co/RtZDT0Zen9

— ッ MEDIOLANA® EDU (@Mediolana) May 31, 2017