The world football body signed a partnership in April with Saudi Aramco, majority owned by the kingdom.
Published on 21/10/2024 12:34
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Around a hundred professional football players took a stand, in an open letter addressed to Fifa Monday October 21, against the partnership between the world football body and the Saudi oil company Saudi Aramco.
Concluded last April, this agreement provoked the ire of the players. According to them, the reason is the non-respect of human rights by the Saudi kingdom, a shareholder of more than 98% of the company. “The Saudi authorities are violating not only the rights of women, but also the freedom of all other citizens,” write the signatories of the letter which denounce “a nightmare sponsor”.
In addition to women, the issue of LGBTQ + people also arouses indignation among players, in a discipline which had seen Megan Rapinoe, Golden Ball in 2019, publicly commit to this cause. “Imagine that LGBTQ+ players […] will promote Saudi Aramco during the 2027 World Cup, the national oil company of a regime that criminalizes the relationships they maintain and the values they defend?
Another problem noted by the authors of the missive, the environmental aspect. As a fossil fuel giant, Saudi Aramco is one of the largest emitters of CO2 in the world, which has led to it being questioned by experts at the United Nations. The players thus accuse this company of “burn the future of football”due to “extreme heat, droughts” caused by global warming, generated by pollution. “While we all pay the consequences, Saudi Arabia reaps its profits, with FIFA as its cheerleader”say the footballers.
“This letter shows that as players this is not what we want to support and accept for women’s football. It’s simple: this partnership contradicts Fifa’s own commitments to human rights and ‘ecology.”
Viviane Miedema, Dutch internationalathletesoftheworld.org
For them, this agreement symbolizes the excesses of Fifa and its executive committee, within which women are under-represented (22%). “With Russia 2018 and Qatar 2022 (the last two men’s World Cups)one need not look far for examples of the last time Fifa sold out its principles and those of football fans and players.”
Four French players are among the signatories. Daïna Bourma, Rosalie Chaine, Emmy Jézéquel, and Elisa Rambaud thus left their mark alongside those of the captain of the Canadian selection, Jessie Fleming, or the legend of the United States, Becky Sauerbrunn.
“We call on FIFA to reconsider this partnership and replace Saudi Aramco with other sponsors whose values are aligned with gender equality, human rights and the secure future of our planet,” conclude the players.
