“Dear Infantino, this is a disgrace for women’s football” | Relief

“Dear President Infantino,

Aramco’s sponsorship is a crest for women’s football.

While in the world of tennis, the premiere of the Six Kings Slam tournament took place in Riyadh – the most expensive exhibition tournament in the world with a prize fund six million dollars for Jannik Sinner, winner-The women’s soccer team prepared their latest protest.

106 professional footballers from 24 different countries – only one Spaniard: Gotham’s Maitana Lopez – have just sent a letter to Gianni Infantino, the president of FIFA. demanding that he break his sponsorship agreement with Aramco (the Saudi state oil company, the world’s largest). News promoted Country.

Jessie Fleming (Canada Women’s Team Captain), Becky Sauerbrunn (Former USA Team Captain) or Vivianne Miedema (the best scorer in the history of the Dutch national team), among the signatories. In addition to the F League player: Finn Sunny Francie from Real Sociedad.

“Saudi authorities have spent billions of euros on sports sponsorship to distract attention from the regime’s brutal human rights record. But his treatment of women speaks for itself,” the letter emphasizes.

Among the “barbarities” that highlight the 106 footballers is the case of Salma Al-Shebab, a doctoral student at the Faculty of Dentistry at the University of Leeds, who is married with two children. Al-Shebab sentenced to 34 years in prison for retweeting several posts critical of the Saudi regime and who, among other things, supported women’s right to drive.

Relationship between Aramco and FIFA

On November 17, 2017, the oil giant signed a sponsorship deal with FIFA worth approximately €100 million annually. Aramco has reportedly become one of the top sponsors of soccer’s top organization until at least 2034. Times.

The oil, gas and petrochemicals company, founded and headquartered in Dhahran, employs 76,000 people worldwide and produces 10% of the world’s oil. In 2023, Aramco earned $121.3 billion in net income. The agreement with FIFA is part of the Vision 2030 strategic plan promoted by Crown Prince Mohamen bin Salman, which aims to diversify Saudi Arabia’s economy and modernize the country.

“A week after FIFA announced its partnership with Aramco, fitness instructor Manahel al-Otaibi was sentenced to 11 years in prison on trumped-up terrorism charges for simply promoting women’s empowerment on social media,” it said. letter. “The Saudi authorities trample not only the rights of women, but also the freedoms of everyone else.”

they condemn.

Moreover, they accuse Aramco, as the world’s largest state-owned oil and gas company, of “burning football out of football.” “The world has been devastated by extreme heat, drought, fires and floods. “We are all paying the consequences, but Saudi Arabia is profiting and FIFA is supporting them.”they say.

And they move on, remembering that by the 2018 World Cup in Russia and the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, “FIFA has already sold its principles, and those of football fans and players.” “FIFA’s latest decisions are made by a council of 37 people, of which only eight are women (22%). These decisions are made by men who are privileged enough not to feel threatened by Saudi Arabian authorities towards women, LGTBQ+ people, migrants, minorities or those whose present and future are most threatened by climate change,” they continue. .

The next three World Cups are just around the corner. The one in 2026 (men’s), which will take place between Canada, the United States and Mexico; The 2027 World Cup (women’s) will be held in Brazil, and Spain and Portugal (men’s) in 2030. “A 2027 World Cup sponsor would be a gut-punch for women’s football, undermining decades of work by fans and players. from all over the world (…) We deserve much better from our righteous body than its union with this nightmare sponsor,” they conclude.

On the ATHLETES OF THE WORLD website, where the letter is posted, any football player can add his name to the list of signatories.