More than 100 professional women’s football players, including five Australians, have signed an open letter calling for FIFA to drop their major partnership with Saudi Arabian-owned oil conglomerate Saudi Aramco.
In a letter published on Monday, 106 professional players from 24 countries asked the world soccer governing body to reconsider its partnership with oil giant Aramco, which is 98.5 per cent owned by Saudi Arabia, in light of concerns around human rights violations.Â
The players say the Aramco sponsorship “is a middle finger to women’s football”.
Signatories include Matildas Aivi Luik and Alex Chidaic, as well as fellow Australian players Perth Glory’s Isobel Dalton, Canberra United’s Emma Ilijoski, and Nordsjaelland’s Winionah Heatley.
The letter questions how LGBTQ+ players can be expected to promote Aramco while Saudi Arabia criminalises same sex relationships, and raises concerns over the oil company’s impact on climate change.
Winonah Heatley said she does not believe Saudi Aramco are a ‘friend to football’. (AAP: Darren England)
Heatley, who has been in Matildas camps since 2021, said the profits the company makes through its oil and gas sales are in direct opposition of any progress being made towards preventing climate change.
“As players in a sport which heavily relies on climate conditions, I simply don’t think it’s a partnership we can tolerate,” Heatley told ABC Sport.
“It’s obvious to me that Saudi Aramco and the Saudi regime are not a friend to football, or sport in general, and if we allow partnerships like this to go unchallenged, we allow Saudi to use their money to distract us from both their treatment of women and their impediment of climate action.”
Ilijoski said football was a powerful tool to drive change and should “not be a mask for these violations”.
FIFA signed a four year worldwide partnership deal with Saudi Aramco back in April, which includes rights across multiple major tournaments, including the World Cup 2026 and the Women’s World Cup 2027.
Emma Ilijoski said football was a powerful tool to help drive change. (Getty Images: Mark Nolan)
The letter details how women’s football globally is posting record attendances and viewing figures, including nearly two million tickets sold to the Women’s World Cup in Australia last year.
“But FIFA’s announcement of Saudi Aramco as its ‘major’ partner has set us so far back that it’s hard to fully take in,” the letter states.
“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.”
The letter highlights multiple human rights violations against women, including fitness instructor Manahel al-Otaibi sentenced to 11 years in prison under ‘anti-terror’ laws for promoting female empowerment on social media, the week after the partnership between FIFA and Aramco was announced.
“Exactly a year ago, many of us came together to play at the pinnacle of our sport in the Women’s 2023 World Cup. The inclusivity and sustainability of that World Cup set a new standard for football, and one which FIFA should be looking to build on,” the letter read.
Aramco chairman and governor of Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund Yasir Al-Rumayyan is seen on the grid during the F1 Grand Prix at Jeddah. (Getty Images: Eric Alonso)
“Instead of a step forward, having Saudi Aramco as the sponsor for the next World Cup in 2027 would be a stomach punch to the women’s game, undermining decades of work from fans and players around the globe.Â
“A corporation that bears glaring responsibility for the climate crisis, owned by a state that criminalises LBGTQ+ individuals and systematically oppresses women, has no place sponsoring our beautiful game.”
The letter asks FIFA three questions:
1. How can FIFA justify this sponsorship given the human rights violations committed by the Saudi authorities?
2. How can FIFA defend this sponsorship given Saudi Aramco’s significant responsibility for the climate crisis?
3. What is FIFA’s response to our proposal of the establishment of a review committee with player representation?
Heatley said taking a collective stance on an issue like this was necessary in creating a future world they were proud of.
“We saw people push back against the Visit Saudi deal in the run-up to the World Cup here in Australia last year — so we know change is possible when we come together,” Heatley said.
“Given the history of the women’s game across the world, and the fact that players have constantly had to fight for better working conditions, it seems natural to me that female footballers are taking a lot of ownership for the way our game is developing.Â
“The women’s game is growing rapidly, and it’s very important to us as players that this growth is sustainable for future generations.”
Canadian national team captain Jessie Fleming, who captains the Portland Thorns, added that they were hoping to use sport’s greatest power in bringing people together via the letter to bring “attention to the gender inequality imposed by Saudi authorities and the harm Aramco causes”.
“As well as funding the Saudi regime, Aramco is one of the biggest polluters of the planet we all call home. In taking Aramco’s sponsorship, FIFA is choosing money over women’s safety and the safety of the planet — and that’s something we as players are standing against, together,” Fleming said.
Saudi Arabia is expected to be announced as the host of the 2034 World Cup later this year.
FIFA and Aramco have been contacted for comment.
