“Shocked and Disappointed”
World Cup hosts reprimand FIFA for possible sponsorship
02/02/2023 10:21 am
A country that severely restricts women’s rights should sponsor a women’s World Cup? Apparently FIFA has no problem with that. The tourist board “Visit Saudi” should be allowed to advertise at the women’s soccer World Cup in Australia and New Zealand. The hosts object.
The two hosts New Zealand and Australia have sharply criticized a possible sponsorship of Saudi Arabia at this year’s soccer World Cup. It was “shocked and disappointed” that the world governing body FIFA “was not informed” about such plans, according to a statement from Wellington.
The Australian association also complained that it had not been informed of such plans. You will write to FIFA immediately to clarify the situation. Due to severely restricted women’s rights and human rights violations in general, the Gulf state is in the pillory internationally.
The fact that the Saudi Arabian tourist board “Visit Saudi” is apparently on the World Cup sponsor list is an action “from the textbook for sports washing”, explained Nikita White of Amnesty International Australia. It should be pointed out that “in Saudi Arabia, a woman is not even allowed to pursue a profession without the permission of a male ‘protector’.”
Sportswashing and Human Rights Violations
According to a report by the portal “The Athletic”, the Tourist Board is to become a sponsor for the World Cup tournament from July 20th to August 20th. Martina Voss-Tecklenburg’s German team will play there in the preliminary round against Morocco, Colombia and South Korea.
The oil state of Saudi Arabia was only awarded the bid to host the 2027 Asian Championship for men on Wednesday. There are already plans to bid for the 2030 World Cup along with Egypt and Greece. This is one of the reasons why the country is pushing ahead with sports policy efforts.
Saudi Arabia has greatly intensified its investments in international sport in recent years. Among other things, the lucrative LIV Golf Tour takes place there, Formula 1 also makes a stop in the kingdom, and soccer superstar Cristiano Ronaldo recently switched to the Saudi Arabian club Al-Nassr.