On Thursday, the Women's Tennis Association (WTA) announced that Saudi Arabia will serve as the host for the next three editions of the WTA Finals. The decision comes after much speculation and criticism from some of the sport's biggest names.

Chelsea are reported to be reviewing their sponsorship arrangement with Parimatch Tech after news that the Ukraine-based betting firm is among the latest businesses to be sanctioned by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

Tottenham Hotspur fans arriving for their match at Newcastle United on Sunday must have thought they had wandered into a Saudi souk by mistake. Scores of male home supporters dressed in Arabian clobber thronged in a typecast entrance to St James' Park selling price souvenir shirts, scarves and programmes while dancing gigs of joy.

Improved Saudi Arabian and Qatari relations proved to be an instrumental factor in the £305 million ($415 million/€359 million) takeover of Newcastle United led by the Public Investment Fund (PIF).

At no point during Norwich City’s fateful Premier League match against Watford last night did the club’s joint owner, best-selling cookery author and TV presenter Delia Smith, take to the pitch to exhort the home fans to greater efforts, as she so memorably did when her team was in the throes of another unsuccessful fight against relegation 11 years ago. Which was rather a shame.