FIFA: 126 players describe Saudi Aramco deal as a "middle finger to women's football"

The sponsorship agreement between Saudi Aramco, the Saudi Arabian national oil and gas company, and FIFA "is a middle finger to women's football," said 126 professional players belonging to the "Athletes of the World" collective in a letter to Gianni Infantino, president of the International Federation, published on 20/10/2024.

The partnership, which was announced by FIFA on 25/04/2024, covers three seasons (2024-2027) and is worth a record $100m (€93.5m), the largest sponsorship sum ever received by FIFA for such a period.

"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. We urge FIFA to reconsider this partnership and replace Saudi Aramco with alternative sponsors whose values align with gender equality, human rights and the safe future of our planet.We deserve so much better from our governing body than its allyship with this nightmare sponsor," said the players, who are also calling for the creation of a monitoring committee "to evaluate the…