Middle Eastern Investors Buy Major Stake in the Washington Capitals

Investment funds from the Middle East have been investing heavily in the sports world lately, and that now includes hockey. A minority stake in Monumental Sports & Entertainment, the parent company of the Washington Capitals, the NBA's Washington Wizards, and the WNBA's Washington Mystics, will be bought by the Qatar Investment Authority, according to Sportico.

Though an agreement has yet to be officially announced, the purchase is the first time a North American sports club and/or its parent company have been bought by a sovereign wealth fund, with the Qatar Investment Authority - a fund founded by the Qatari government - purchasing roughly five per cent of MS&E.

This news will almost certainly invite some controversy, given how wealth funds from Qatar and Saudi Arabia have already invested heavily in soccer, which has led to accusations of sportswashing given both countries' well-documented human rights abuses.

The five per cent stake will reportedly be part of a deal adding up to $4.05 billion. MS&E's CEO/founder is Capitals owner Ted Leonsis, who has owned the team since 1999.