KPMG Middle East report maps the fan experience behind Saudi Arabia's decade of mega-events
Saudi Arabia is preparing to host four global events in under a decade: the Esports World Cup 2026, the AFC Asian Cup 2027, Riyadh Expo 2030, and the FIFA World Cup 2034. A new report from KPMG Middle East argues that delivering them successfully will depend as much on the fan experience as on the stadiums and infrastructure behind them.
KPMG's latest report, Blueprint for the fan experience: Mega sporting events in Saudi Arabia, sets out a practical framework for designing those experiences — the accumulated moments between a fan buying a ticket and sharing their final photo home that determine whether an event becomes a memory or a milestone.
"Saudi Arabia has entered a pivotal new chapter," said Shadi Samhan, Partner, Sports Sector Lead at KPMG Middle East. "Delivering these events to the highest standard requires far more than operational excellence. Success will depend on developing deeper audience understanding, strengthening coordination across public and private stakeholders, and leveraging the right mix of technology, data, cultural engagement, and human interaction to craft experiences that feel seamless and memorable."
Shadi Samhan, Partner, Sports Sector Lead at KPMG Middle East.
The blueprint is built around KPMG's SIX Pillars of Experience Design — Integrity, Personalization, Time & Effort, Expectations, Resolution, and Empathy — a framework that has shaped consumer engagements projects across multiple sectors. Applied to sport, each pillar maps to a practical question: Can fans trust the ticketing system? Does the app feel personal? How long is the queue at the gate?
Central to the report is its recognition that the "average fan" does not exist. It maps seven distinct personas — from the VIP spectator and the first-time international visitor to the lifelong local supporter, the family, the mature visitor, the fan with a disability, and the remote digital viewer — each with their own frustrations and expectations. International fans struggle with fragmented platforms. Families dread overcrowding. Loyal local supporters resent being treated like casual ones.
The report draws on global precedent to show what works. Qatar's Hayya Card put visas, transport and tickets inside a single app at the 2022 World Cup. The Paris Olympics 2024 staged record-setting drone shows that spilled beyond stadium walls. The FIFA+ app uses augmented reality to deliver real-time stats inside stadiums, and IBM's AI commentator produced broadcast-quality narration in multiple languages at the US Open. The technologies already exist, the report notes; the challenge is assembling them into one connected experience rather than a collection of disconnected features.
Behind the experience itself, KPMG identifies SEVEN foundational enablers — data governance, integrated digital platforms, commercial ecosystems, governance and stakeholder alignment, workforce capability, sustainability and ESG integration, and accessibility and inclusion. The report calls for integrated dashboards that track operational performance and fan satisfaction in real time, treating fan experience not as a soft art but as a measurable, manageable system.
"Great experiences do not happen by chance," Samhan said. "They need to be intentionally designed. The technologies and ideas already exist — the work ahead is assembling them into something coherent, anchored in global experience and adapted to the Saudi context."
The report positions itself as a starting point for organizers, federations, government bodies and their advisors as they translate strategy into the detailed operational design ahead — audience sizing, investment planning, and the technology choices that turn a framework into a stadium gate that opens on time.
