It was reported earlier that “Visit Saudi” may become a sponsor of the FIFA World Cup this summer.
Several big stars criticized the information, including Sweden’s captain Magdalena Ericsson.
Now comes new information that FIFA is ready to part ways with the sponsor before it becomes official.
In late January, the British newspaper The Athletic reported that the Saudi tourism authority, Visit Saudi, would sponsor the next Women’s World Cup.
Now comes new information that FIFA has heard the storm of criticism that leveled the previous information. According to the Sydney Morning Herald, the organization is ready to cancel the sponsor.
According to the information, the backlash has shocked FIFA and they are now working to find a solution as early as next week’s FIFA congress in Rwanda.
Device change
However, the newspaper believes that Saudi Arabia’s involvement in sponsorship cannot be completely ruled out. Instead of the General Tourism Authority sponsoring the tournament, there is another entity linked to Saudi Arabia that is credited with sponsoring it.
Last week, Football Association New Zealand chief executive Andrew Pragnell received a response to the letter he sent to FIFA more than a month ago. He thinks the answer is not clear, but the delay in answering must make sense.
– Honestly, we’re a little unsure of what’s going on right now, which is a little disappointing. All I’m saying now is guesswork of course because I still don’t know. But given how long it took to get an answer, and that they were unable to confirm or deny the information, that must have led to some sort of reconsideration by FIFA on the matter, Pragnell told the newspaper.
“clear sports wash”
When the information about the intended sponsor first came to light, it was met with much criticism from the footballing world. Among other things, Amnesty International called the data “obvious sportswashing” and pointed to Saudi Arabia’s poor reputation when it comes to women’s rights.
Swedish team captain Magdalena Ericsson has also spoken to Fotbollskanalen about the matter and has been clear that she hopes the information will be pulled.
The World Cup begins on July 20 and lasts for a month in Australia and New Zealand.