Australian Players Union, LGBTQ+ Advocates Join Critics of Saudi Sponsorship of Women’s World Cup | Women’s World Cup 2023

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The Australian Professional Footballers’ Union and LGBTQ+ advocates have criticized Fifa for accepting sponsorship from the Saudi Tourism Authority for the Women’s World Cup later this year, with a group claiming the event is now sponsored by a country where many players and fans would be persecuted. being themselves.

Fifa is expected to confirm that Visit Saudi will join international brands such as Adidas, Coca-Cola and Visa in associating its name with the 32-team tournament which kicks off in front of an expected 50,000 fans at Aucklands Eden Park on July 20.

The deal was struck under Fifa’s new commercial partnership structure dedicated to developing revenue specifically for women’s football, with funds generated from the World Cup funneled back into the sport.

The arrangement was condemned by human rights groups, who called the decision a textbook case of sports washing, and in a statement, New Zealand Minister for Sport Grant Robertson said said football bodies that are part of Fifa, including NZ Football, have written to Fifa to express their concern.

Consensual same-sex sexual relations are strictly prohibited in Saudi Arabia, punishable by death or flogging. Sex outside marriage is prohibited and it is illegal for men to behave like women or wear women’s clothing and vice versa.

Professional Footballers Australia co-chief executive Kathryn Gill also condemned the move, saying the players were the public face of major Fifas tournaments but their voice had been excluded from a decision-making process that would benefit their involvement.

FIFA is required to respect all internationally recognized human rights and to exercise its considerable influence when they are not respected or protected. However, they have consistently shown that they are unwilling to live up to their stated human rights commitments.

The players’ goal is to make the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023 a true force for good, and they will continue to hold Fifa to account when they undermine that.

Organizers of the A-Leagues Pride Cup, due to be held on February 16 between Melbourne Victory and Adelaide United, said in a statement that the decision failed to take into account the human rights of players, fans and officials.

The FIFA Women’s World Cup is now sponsored by a country where many players and fans would be persecuted and arrested for being themselves.

Dr Ryan Storr, a research associate at the Sport Innovation Research Group at Swinburne University of Technology, said the deal was a bit of a mess, adding that the Saudi tourism body was not a good fit for the tournament .

Saudi Arabia actually has one of the worst legal systems in the world regarding LGBT qualities and homosexuality in particular, he said.

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Women Onside, an NGO focused on defending women in football, expressed concern about the deal, adding that it underscored Fifa’s indifference to human rights.

Although there have been advancements for women’s rights in Saudi Arabia in recent years, including the creation of a women’s national football team, Saudi Arabia remains an authoritarian state where the rights of women and groups minority groups are restricted, same-sex relationships are illegal, freedom of speech is limited and dissenters are imprisoned.

Visit Saudi is not a suitable sponsor for the Women’s World Cup.

A number of legal changes have been introduced in recent years in Saudi Arabia, including an end to the ban on women driving and an amendment to the oppressive guardianship law which would, for the first time, allow women to seek official documents such as a passport and travel abroad independently.

However, women still need permission from a male guardian to get married, get out of prison, or get some form of sexual and reproductive health care. Male guardians can also take legal action against women for disobedience and absence from home.

Fifa did not respond to a request for comment.

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