The Romans launches MENA sports arm led by Sam Buckett.
PR and influencer agency The Romans has launched a sports and entertainment division in MENA, led by managing director Sam Buckett. It is the second market for the offer after the UK.
Buckett previously ran Burson's sports and entertainment work in Saudi Arabia for two years and before that worked in Qatar around the FIFA World Cup. The new unit offers PR, influencer marketing, partnership and sponsorship strategy and activation, content, creative activations and reputation management.
Chris Allen, The Romans' executive director of sports and entertainment, leads the offer globally, and Joe Lipscombe is partner at The Romans MENA. The agency's sports clients include WWE, UFC, Formula E, Formula 1, Oakley and Puma, and in the region it works with Ethara on the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. Its Dubai office, opened in 2024, also handles Porsche, Binance, WaterWipes, Costa Coffee and SharkNinja. Buckett argued that sports fans are too often treated as a captive audience, which produces lazy PR.
Campaign Middle East does not say whether the division will have a Saudi office or Saudi clients, or how big the team is.
Saudi Arabia's sports calendar keeps getting busier, and sponsorship is a big part of how brands use it. Another specialist agency with Saudi experience gives sponsors more choice, and Buckett's point about fan-first activation is a fair test for any brief: if the idea only works because the audience cannot leave, it probably is not good enough.
Why it matters
Specialist sports PR capacity keeps arriving in the Gulf, led by people with Saudi experience, giving sponsors more choice on activation and creator work.
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