Where the popular will matters

IN ANY other situation a crowd of thousands of vocal Saudis would be quickly jumped on and quietened by the security forces. Yet week in week out, in stadiums across the kingdom, Saudis cheer on teams such as Al-Hilal and Al-Nassr, both in Riyadh, the capital. “Football has emerged as a rare area for free speech,” says a Saudi professor.

Football is the one activity where the royal family can most plainly be swayed by popular pressure. In 2012 Prince Nawaf bin Faisal felt obliged to step down as head of the Saudi Arabian Football Federation when ordinary Saudis turned against him after the national team failed to qualify for the World Cup in Brazil. Last year fans of Al-Nassr tried to oust the team’s head, Prince Faisal bin Turki, after a string of defeats. They failed, but the campaign, waged by social media, was a rare example of Saudis being able publicly and freely to voice their discontent.