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Females footballers call on FIFA to end partnership with Saudi Aramco

A group of over 100 professional females's soccer players on Monday sent an open letter to FIFA prompting the world governing body to end its partnership with oil and gas corporation Saudi Aramco.

In April, FIFA signed a four-year deal which will see Aramco become an around the world partner, consisting of in major tournaments such as the 2026 World Cup and the Women's World Cup the list below year.

Saudi Arabia has actually invested greatly in sports like soccer, Formula One and golf in the last couple of years while critics, including ladies's rights groups and members of the LGBTQ community, implicate the kingdom of using its Public Investment Fund (PIF) to sportswash its human rights record.

The nation denies accusations of human rights abuses and says it protects its nationwide security through its laws.

Manchester City striker Vivianne Miedema, Canada captain Jessie Fleming and ex-United States skipper Becky Sauerbrunn were among the gamers to sign the letter.

We advise FIFA to reconsider this collaboration and replace Saudi Aramco with alternative sponsors whose worths line up with gender equality, human rights and the safe future of our world, the gamers stated in the letter.

They likewise proposed establishing an evaluation committee with player representation to assess the ethical implications of future sponsorship deals.

FIFA indicated the impact of sponsorship revenues on financial investment in the women's video game.

FIFA values its collaboration with Aramco and its numerous others commercial and rights partners, a spokesperson for FIFA stated.

FIFA is an inclusive organisation with lots of commercial partners also supporting other organisations in football and other sports.

Sponsorship profits created by FIFA are reinvested back into the video game at all levels and investment in females's football continues to increase, consisting of for the historic FIFA 2023 Women's World Cup and its groundbreaking brand-new circulation model.

A representative for Aramco said they would offer a response to the letter at the earliest chance.

(source: Reuters)