Female players urge Fifa to rethink sponsorship deal with Saudi oil giant

World football's governing body Fifa came under pressure on Monday to reconsider a sponsorship deal with the Saudi Arabian oil firm Aramaco after it received an open letter from 106 female football players from 24 countries including France, Denmark and the United States.

The letter brands the contract worse than an own goal and hits out at Saudi Arabia's record on the rights of women and LGBTQ+ people as well as the impact of Aramco's oil and gas production on climate change.

"Fifa’s announcement of Saudi Aramco as its ‘major’ partner has set us so far back that it’s hard to fully take in," said the letter issued through the environmental and social campaign group Athletes of the World.

"Saudi Aramco is the main money-pump for Saudi Arabia, and is 98.5% state-owned. Saudi authorities have been spending billions in sports sponsorship to try to distract from the regime’s brutal human rights reputation, but its treatment of women speaks for itself."

In April, Fifa, which organises tournaments such as the men's and women's football World Cup, agreed a 200-million euro sponsorship deal deal which would run through the 2026 men's World Cup in Mexico, Canada and the United States as well as the 2027 women's World Cup in Brazil.

Cases

Citing several cases of women imprisoned for campaigning for social justice, the letter adds: "The Saudi authorities trample not only on the rights of women, but on the freedom of all other citizens too.

Fifa bosses though appear determined to maintain their stance over the deal.

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