PORTER BREAKS SILENCE ON SAUDI ARABIA HOSTING A DARTS MAJOR

PDC CHIEF MATT PORTER has dismissed speculation that Saudi Arabia could host one of darts’ major televised tournaments.

The kingdom joined the World Series circuit this year and staged the Saudi Arabia Masters in Riyadh.

Luke Littler lifted the title at the Global Theatre after defeating Michael van Gerwen 8-5 in the final, with the event staged under Saudi Arabia’s strict laws, including a ban on alcohol sales.

But despite Saudi Arabia’s huge investment in global sport, Porter insists there are no plans to take one of the PDC’s biggest competitions to the Gulf state.

He told Oche180: “As you say, Saudi Arabia invests heavily in sport, and often in sports where they want to encourage local participation and development.

“For example, they built a snooker academy and are looking at what they can do in darts. I think that’s a positive.

“Obviously, there have been some strategic changes in certain investments they’ve made in recent years, but we’re expecting to go back there in January and I’m sure the event will be well received again.”

Saudi Arabia’s sporting ambitions have been scaled back in recent years after a period of aggressive spending.

LIV Golf has been among the most notable projects affected, while Matchroom has also lost one of its Saudi-based snooker events.

However, Porter was quick to shoot down suggestions that a Premier event could be heading to the country.

He added: “No, that’s not something we’ve ever discussed. That’s just people speculating, I think.”

The PDC’s long-term growth strategy is firmly focused on cracking America.

Last month, American investment firm Bruin Capital acquired a minority stake in Matchroom in a deal valuing Barry Hearn’s sports promotion empire at more than £1billion.

Porter confirmed that developing the sport in US is now one of the organisation’s biggest priorities.

He continued: “It’s played widely across the country, but it’s not really perceived as a professional sport.

“Our plan is to work with local stakeholders and hopefully find new partners who can help us commercialise the sport and take it to a wider audience.

“We want a broader broadcast audience, sponsors who are interested in the sport, and more fans buying tickets.

“Ultimately, the reason for all of that is because we want to produce an American darting superstar.

“The market is huge, and it’s not really one market.

“It’s dangerous to look at America simply as one country because there are so many regional differences and factors to consider.

“It’s also a very mature sports market.

“It’s difficult for any sport to break into the mainstream there, especially a sport that hasn’t traditionally had a professional foundation in the United States.

“So we’re starting from a long way back, but they’re roads we’ve travelled before in other countries.

“They may just be longer roads in America.”

Image by Taylor Lanning.