Australia and New Zealand rebel against Saudi Arabia as a sponsor

host countries to Women’s World Cup 2023Australia and New Zealand called for an urgent meeting to be held at FIFA headquarters on Thursday, February 2, regarding the presence of the Saudi Tourism Office among the sponsors of the competition.

This article was published on Tuesday Watchman That set fire to the powder between the organizers and FIFA. According to the British newspaper, the visit of Saudi Arabia will formalize its sponsorship of the competition in the coming days, despite the very poor record of the Kingdom. on women’s rights.

“shocked and disappointed”

Football Federation Australia and New Zealand officials said they had not been informed of the planned agreement and had “jointly written to FIFA to urgently clarify the situation”.

Football Australia said in a statement that it was “very disappointed” that it had not been “advised on this matter prior to making the decision”.

His counterparts in New Zealand said they were “shocked and disappointed” that FIFA had not consulted them.

The proposed sponsorship deal has drawn intense criticism: former Australian international Katharine Gill has claimed that FIFA is “obligated to respect all internationally recognized human rights and to exercise significant influence when they are not respected or protected”.

The goal of the players is to create Women’s World Cup 2023 A real force for good and they will continue to hold FIFA accountable when it undermines it.”

Nikita White, an Australian campaigner for Amnesty International, asked how the Saudi Tourism Authority could sponsor the Women’s World Cup when “women in Saudi Arabia cannot even work without the permission of their male guardian”.

It also referred to Saudi Arabia’s “appalling record of human rights violations”.

“The sponsorship of the Women’s World Cup by the Saudi authorities would be a typical case of sports laundering,” she said.

Diplomatic attack through sports

After Gulf neighbor Qatar hosted the men’s soccer World Cup last year, Saudi Arabia is also spending heavily on soccer to improve its image, such as recruitment in the gold award for Portuguese star Cristiano Ronaldo by Al-Nasr club.

>> To read also: Cristiano Ronaldo, the bridgehead of the crazy sporting ambitions of Saudi Arabia

The host country for the 2027 Asian Cup was confirmed on Wednesday and is considering a joint bid with Egypt and Greece to host the 2030 men’s World Cup.

FIFA President Gianni Infantino has said he expects two billion viewers to watch the ninth edition of the Women’s World Cup. The World Football Governing Council hopes this will help the development of women’s football, as the championship is shared for the first time between two countries.