The information about Saudi Arabia’s possible sponsorship of the World Cup has shocked the football associations of Australia and New Zealand.
The Women’s World Cup will be played in July-August in Australia and New Zealand. According to media reports, Saudi Arabia’s state-run tourism organization “Visit Saudi” is one of the sponsors of the Games.
The competition organizers have not welcomed the cooperation between the international football association Fifa and the country accused of human rights violations.
– We are very disappointed that the Australian Football Association was not consulted about this decision. Together with the New Zealand Football Association, we have written to Fifa and asked them to clarify the matter, Australia’s head of women’s operations Bonita Mersiades commented to The Athletic. (you switch to another service)
– The proposed Visit Saudi sponsorship cooperation is yet another example of Fifa’s hypocrisy. They claim to respect the rights of women and sexual and gender minorities, and at the same time they feel no bad conscience at all accepting sponsorship money from an organization that does not share the same values and does not respect human rights, Mersiades continued.
Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia Mohammed bin Salman has in recent years tried to polish the country’s public image with various reforms, such as granting women the right to drive. Women gained the right to watch football in 2018, and a women’s football league was launched in 2020.
In reality, the country continues to commit serious human rights violations. Same-sex marriages are still illegal. According to a recent report, the current administration has, for example, doubled the number of executions. Torture, imprisonment of minors and show trials are also common in the country.
– This shows that football culture has not changed in ten years, it has probably gone in a worse direction. Change will only happen if those with power announce that enough is enough and gather together to demand change, Mersiades teases.
The Men’s World Cup was recently held in Qatar and received a lot of criticism. The application process that was revealed to be corrupt, the country’s miserable human rights situation, climate-related problems and Qatar’s non-existent football culture aroused disapproval. The stadiums were built only for the World Cup.
Saudi Arabia has many of the same problems. Terrestrial however, it has been reported that they want (you switch to another service) will organize the men’s World Cup 2030 together with Greece and Egypt.