Movistar team management company Abarca Sports announced Monday that it has signed an agreement with the Saudi Arabian Cycling Federation to support the development of cycling in the country.

Federation president Abdullah Alwaslan and Movistar boss Eusebio Unzue agreed in a "memorandum of understanding" to work together to develop cycling projects "at all levels" in Saudi Arabia.

The announcement did not specify what Abarca Sports would get in return for helping the Saudi Arabian Cycling Federation train its technical staff and support events "in the coming years."

Saudi Arabia, according to the 2021 report, is a prolific spender on high-profile international sporting events, spending $1.5 billion on soccer, including a $145 million deal with the Spanish Football Association, Formula One, and most recently the controversial LIV Golf League, and the oil-rich country It is investing heavily in the development of domestic sports as part of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman's "Vision 2030" initiative to transition Saudi Arabia, an oil-rich country, to other economic interests.

However, the country has been widely accused of sportswashing in an attempt to build a reputation for its massive investments and divert attention away from human rights abuses and the 2018 murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi.

In professional cycling, the Saudi Arabian federation has partnered with ASO, organizer of the Tour de France, to add the Saudi Tour, which has been held since 1999, to the UCI calendar in 2020 as a 2.1 ranked stage race.