A group of 106 professional footballers from 24 countries has sent a letter to the FIFA President Gianni Infantinoin which they claim that break sponsorship agreement with Aramcothe state oil company of Saudi Arabia, for being this a country that “tramples on the rights of women” and the homosexual community.
In the letter, to which he has had access EFEthe signatories consider that a company like Aramco, owned by a regime like the Saudi one that “criminalizes LBGTQ+ people and systematically oppresses” women, “You have no right to sponsor the beautiful sport.”
The letter, which begins with the heading “The sponsorship agreement with Aramco is a comb for women’s soccer,” is supported by soccer players who play in leagues such as those in the United States, England, Italy, Germany, Australia or the Netherlands.
Among them, the captains of the Italian national teams, Elena Linari, stand out; Canada, Jessie Fleming, and Croatia, Doris Bacic.
There is also the American Becky Sauerbrunn, former captain of her national team and capped 217 times, and the Afghan Khalida Popal, who also He once wore the armband of his country’s teamone of those who persecute women the most since the Taliban rule.
On the list, there is only one Spanish footballer, the midfielder Maitane López, who plays for NY Gotham in the United States, while in the F League the only representative is the Finnish forward of Real Sociedad Sanni Franssi.
Aramcothe largest oil company in the world, signed an agreement with FIFA on April 25 by which it became the “main exclusive global partner in the energy category” of the body that regulates football competitions in the world.
The agreement empowers the energy company to be a sponsor of the 2026 Soccer World Cup, which will be played in the US, Mexico and Canada, and the women’s event in 2027 in Brazil.
For the players who signed the letter, Aramco being a sponsor of the next World Cup “would be a blow to the stomach for women’s football, undermining decades of work by fans and players around the world.”
“This sponsorship is much worse than an own goal for soccer: FIFA could very well pour oil on the field and set it on fire (…) Our work as professional players has been a dream for us and it is a dream for the girls who They will be the players of the future. “We deserve much better from our governing body than its alliance with this nightmare of a sponsor,” the text adds.
???? Aramco sponsorship is a middle finger to women’s football❗️
JUST IN: Open letter from 100+ female players to FIFA and its President criticizes the Aramco deal for neglecting human rights and sustainability.
Propose a review committee with player representation.
Link???? pic.twitter.com/WPGrtSaHr5
— Stanis Elsborg (@StanisElsborg) October 21, 2024
The footballers ask FIFA to reconsider the sponsorship with the oil company and to look for alternative partners “whose values align with gender equality, human rights and the safe future of the planet”, also denouncing the damage that companies like Aramco do to the fight against climate change.
They demand that Infantino create a review committee, in which footballers are represented, which is responsible for evaluating the ethical implications of future sponsorship agreements and which guarantees that they respect human rights.
The letter cites some cases of women who have suffered repression and imprisonment in Saudi Arabia for demanding rights for this group.
FCM
