Saudi Arabia: fans... paid to pretend!

According to an investigation by the French outlet L’Équipe, the Saudi project NEOM has reportedly employed a surprising tactic to fill its stands: paying so-called supporters to create the illusion of passionate crowds. Based on testimonies collected by the newspaper, these “fans” receive their instructions via a WhatsApp group, are assigned an identification number, and earn around 11 euros per night spent at the stadium. Their mission is to sing, wave the club's colors, and celebrate goals as if they were genuine die-hard fans. Still according to L’Équipe, this approach is not unique to NEOM—other Saudi clubs facing low attendance have allegedly adopted similar practices.

However, at this stage, no tangible evidence has been provided and there has been no official confirmation to corroborate these claims. The information published relies solely on journalistic investigations and isolated testimonies, so a degree of caution is warranted in interpreting these reports.

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Mahdi Zakaria LAZRI |

Editor

Football web writer creating digital sports content with a focus on news, analysis and stories that reflect passion, accuracy and objectivity.