Barry Hearn rules out Saudi Arabian World Darts Championship for the time being: "I asked them a simple question. Can we have alcohol? And they said no"

Despite much speculation in recent months, it now seems the potential of a Saudi Arabian PDC World Darts Championship is off the cards. Barry Hearn has announced that plans for a move to the Middle East have been put on hold over one key sticking point.

Saudi Arabia's influence in sports has grown tremendously in recent years. More and more international events are being held in the country, such as Boxing, WWE and Golf. Earlier this week it was even announced that the FIFA World Cup will be held in Saudi Arabia for the first time ever in 2034. As mentioned though, for darts, however, it seems the sport will not be seen there for now, despite interest from sheikhs.

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Part of the festive atmosphere in darts is singing, fancy dress and the consumption of alcohol. Currently, it is illegal to buy or consume alcohol in Saudi Arabia with penalties such as fines, imprisonment or even deportation for foreigners. For this reason, plans to bring darts to the Middle Eastern country have been put on hold for the time being.

"I’ve taken a couple of big events out there and the players are loving it" Hearn, president of Matchroom Sports, explained to TalkSPORT. "The Saudis asked me for darts about a couple months ago and I asked them a simple question. Can we have alcohol? And they said no. I said well then you can’t have the darts."

“We are a party," he said. "We are the biggest party in the world and there’s going to be 90,000 [people in attendance] and we’ll have to look at trying to make it longer and trying to make it bigger. Will we look at a new venue one day? Yes of course, it’s our job to look at things and evaluate. We’re very happy at Ally Pally at the moment. The only danger for me is I've got so many people saying they are disappointedI don’t want to disappoint punters because one day they’ll turn their attention elsewhere, so I’m not going to be complacent.”

This is not a final nail in the coffin of plans for the World Darts Championship in Saudi Arabia though. Although as mentioned, alcohol remains prohibited in Saudi Arabia, the country is expected to relax its laws in the coming years, which could open the door for future talks.

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