Female footballers speak out against FIFA-Saudi deal

What is the open letter about?

One hundred and six professional female footballers from 24 countries are calling for an end to FIFA's sponsorship deal with Saudi oil company Aramco. The open letter, which is addressed to FIFA President Gianni Infantino, describes FIFA's deal with Aramco as a "middle finger to women's football."

The letter adds that "FIFA's announcement of Saudi Aramco as its 'major' partner has set us so far back that it's hard to fully take in."

In addition to Aramco's negative impact on climate change, the letter also highlights the difficult situation of the LGBTQ+ community in Saudi Arabia.

"The Saudi authorities trample not only on the rights of women, but on the freedom of all other citizens too," the letter reads.

"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," it adds.

"This sponsorship is much worse than an own goal for football: FIFA might as well pour oil on the pitch and set it alight," the letter concludes.

UN Women Germany has expressed support for the players' open letter.

FIFA's sponsorship of Aramco "would undermine the hard-earned progress in women's football and amount to a punch in the gut for women footballers," Ursula Sutter, deputy head of UN Women Germany's board, told DW. 

What is FIFA's deal with Aramco?

In April, FIFA announced that it was entering into a deal with the world's largest oil and gas company, 98.5 percent of which is owned by the Saudi state. The contract, which runs until 2027, guarantees Aramco sponsorship rights for the 2026 Men's World Cup and the 2027 Women's World Cup, among other things. Human rights organizations accuse Saudi Arabia of engaging in sportswashing.

The financial gain for FIFA is offset by a long list of human rights shortcomings in Saudi Arabia: The country is ruled by the House of Saud, the royal family, in an authoritarian manner. There are no elections. Women and men do not have equal rights, and homosexual acts are punishable by corporal punishment or imprisonment. In addition, there is a high number of executions every year, some of which are even carried out in public.

Human Rights Watch has criticized Saudi Arabia for its repression of dissidents and activists, while in the latest press-freedom ranking compiled by "Reporters Without Borders," Saudi Arabia came in 166th out of 180 countries.

Aramco's negative impact on climate change is also being criticized. In an analysis by the Climate Accountability Institute in the USA, climate expert Richard Heede came to the conclusion that just 20 companies are responsible for around a third of all CO2 emissions in the world to date. Aramco is by far the biggest climate polluter. The British think tank "Carbon Tracker" describes Aramco as the "world's biggest emitter of greenhouse gases."

What are the players demanding?

They are demanding that FIFA terminate its deal with Aramco and replace the Saudi company with other sponsors that are committed to gender equality, human rights and a secure future for the planet. The women are also calling for FIFA's future sponsorship projects to be subjected to a review by a committee on which female players are also represented. The decision to enter the deal with Aramco, it said, was taken by 37 people, only eight of whom were women.

If the demands are not met, the players are threatening further consequences — including a boycott.

"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," Manchester City striker Vivianne Miedema told the BBC.

"You've seen boycotts from numerous teams, obviously recently, like with the America team, with the Canadian team," Miedema said. "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," Miedema said.

In the run-up to the 2023 Women's World Cup in Australia and New Zealand, there had already been discussion about Saudi Arabia's tourism authority sponsoring the tournament. In the end, the deal fell through because numerous players and the host FAs had spoken out against it.

What does FIFA say?

The DPA news agency quoted FIFA as saying that it "is an inclusive organisation with many commercial partners."

It said sponsorship revenues were reinvested into the game and that "investment in women's football continues to increase."

Which sports is Saudi Arabia investing in?

Saudi Arabia has been investing heavily in sport for years. The Saudi sovereign wealth fund (PIF) even founded its own sports investment company for this purpose in 2023.

According to the human rights organization Grant Liberty, the kingdom has invested more than €1.3 billion ($1.4 billion) in sport. It's an enormous sum, but one that seems almost insignificant in view of the PIF sovereign wealth fund with estimated reserves of €600 billion.

Star footballers such as Cristiano Ronaldo, Karim Benzema and Sadio Mane have already followed the call of money to Saudi Arabia. The Gulf state is widely expected to host the World Cup in 2034.

Saudi Arabia is also set to host the Asian Winter Games in 2029. The state has launched its own golf series LIV, organizes Formula 1 races and many top-class boxing and wrestling matches. It is also investing in e-sports to reach younger people.

Last week, the Six Kings Slam tennis tournament was held in Riyadh. Top players such as men's world No. 1 Jannik Sinner, Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal played, even though there were no world-ranking points to be won. Nadal, who recently announced his upcoming retirement, is also an ambassador for the Saudi Tennis Federation. The fee for each player is said to have been just under €1.4 million. Sinner, who won the invitational, reportedly collected a good $5.5 million dollars — about twice as he would earn for winning Wimbledon.

This article was originally written in German.