Female footballers rally against FIFA’s deal with Aramco over environmental concerns

More than 100 professional female footballers have called on the Federation Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) to halt its sponsorship deal with Saudi Aramco, an oil company, over environmental concerns.

In an open letter to Gianni Infantino, FIFA president, the players questioned the company’s commitment to sustainability, given its “record of global pollution and lobbying against climate action”.

The players also highlighted issues of human rights violations, particularly against women.

“As we all suffer from the consequences of climate change, Saudi Arabia profits, and FIFA is enabling this,” the letter reads.

They noted that FIFA’s continued partnership with Aramco is “incompatible with the sport’s equality, inclusion, and sustainability values”.

Ayisat Yusuf-Aromire, a retired Nigerian female footballer in Finland, said the company is making the planet unsafe and must be stopped in order to protect the our environment.

“As a woman who had to overcome countless obstacles to play football, I deeply value the freedoms many of us in the game now enjoy.,” Yusuf-Aromire said.

“We must speak up for those who don’t have these same freedoms. Aramco, one of the world’s biggest polluters, is making the planet unsafe.

“We must stand in solidarity with the women of Saudi Arabia, who are imprisoned for peacefully advocating for their rights, and call on FIFA to drop this sponsorship — for the sake of women’s rights and our planet.”

Becky Sauerbrunn, former United States national team captain added, said FIFA’s alignment with such a regime is “unacceptable”.

“We stand with women like Manahel al-Otaibi and Salma al-Shehab, whom the Saudi regime has imprisoned for simply advocating for their rights,” Sauerbrunn said.

This protest comes barely two months before Saudi Arabia is expected to announce its bid to host the 2034 FIFA World Cup.