Women footballers urge Fifa to end Saudi sponsorship deal with Aramco
The players uniting against the sponsorship have more than 2,300 international caps between them and include England defender Niamh Charles, as well as the captains of Canada and Italy’s national teams.
They have been supported in their campaign by the organisation Athletes of the World, external, which brings together sportspeople to advocate on issues such as climate change and poverty.
Danish international Sofie Junge Pedersen was one of the architects of the letter, external which describes the sponsorship as “worse than an own goal” adding that women’s football “deserves better” from its governing body.
“We would like Fifa to replace Saudi Aramco with other sponsors whose values align more with with gender equality, human rights and a safe planet for everyone,” Pedersen added.
“Then we also suggest that they create a committee with player representation who can be part of deciding which sponsors should be chosen [in the future].”
Both Pedersen and Miedema agree that different sponsors should be sought even if it means the deals are less lucrative for women’s football.
Miedema says that if Aramco remains as a sponsor for the 2027 Women’s World Cup it could lead to further action from players.
“I think you’ve seen over the past couple of years that women’s teams are not scared to stand up for what they believe in.
“You’ve seen boycotts from numerous teams, obviously recently, like with the America team, with the Canadian team, everyone is very open and willing to share their opinions.
“That shows you that going forward, there will be a lot of attention and there will definitely be things happening around the World Cup.”
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