This week’s decision by FIFA to accept sponsorship from Visit Saudi of the Women’s World Cup to be played in Australia and New Zealand later this year places athletes, fans, local sponsors and journalists in a difficult position.
And it furthers the efforts of FIFA president Gianni Infantino to embed Saudi ownership and involvement in all levels of the game. The timing is also telling, coming less than six months before the cup, leaving the least possible time for the arrangement to be changed.
FIFA president Gianni Infantino.Credit:AP
During Infantino’s term, Saudi Arabia has grown drastically in political influence. While Qatar had Infantino’s blessing to force its way into becoming a joint host of last year’s World Cup, the Saudi kingdom has become a frontrunner in bidding to host several major events including the 2030 Centenary World Cup.
Despite having a human rights policy for the previous six years that obligates the governing body to uphold and promote all internationally-recognised human rights and audit its commercial partners and hosts, Infantino appears to have disregarded its provisions in favor of promoting the highest bidder. And other than Qatar, few can match Saudi Arabia.
Visit Saudi is Saudi Arabia’s state tourism authority and operates under a legal system that discriminates in a way that renders women legal minors throughout their life in a number of ways. FIFA’s human rights policy prohibits any forms of discrimination, including on the grounds of gender, yet it has accepted the organisation as a cup sponsor.
Although Saudi women over the age of 21 can now apply for a passport and travel abroad without permission from their male guardian, they are subject to considerable male-centred legal control relating to marriage, divorce, children’s issues and custody. Men can file cases against women for “disobedience”, forcing women to return to their male guardian or face imprisonment.
Despite some changes, Saudi women are still heavily restricted in what they can do.Credit:AP
Saudi Arabia formed its first women’s league in 2020, which was an important and commendable step. However, every female athlete is still subject to state-sponsored discrimination.
Additionally, attending journalists will be asked to work in an environment where a sponsor is part of a state responsible for the murder and dismemberment of Jamal Khashoggi and which enforces severe censorship, surveillance and imprisons journalists.
This sponsorship is also galling given the pride Australians take in pay parity between our national teams, the Socceroos and Matildas and the importance of the tournament in promoting greater gender equality in all Australian institutions.
It is a misappropriation of the social licence of sport to provide brand association that is improper and misleading.
In a tournament that will celebrate the economic, political and cultural empowerment of brilliant female athletes with a strong and unapologetic voice on social justice and human rights such as famed members of the US National Team and the Matildas, Visit Saudi will represent a country that last year imprisoned a 34-year-old female Saudi national, Salma Al-Shehab for retweeting information seen as hostile to the kingdom’s interests.
These two realities cannot co-exist if sport is to be authentic in its drive for cultural and political rights for all people.
As we saw in part with Qatar 2022, the incredible value placed on sport by countries and brands wishing to build credibility or, in this case, soft power can be leveraged to further the rights of people everywhere, if the global game so desires.
Qatar’s commendable reform of their modern slave labour system, albeit at immense human cost, is one recent example.
FIFA should therefore work with all hosts and corporate partners with whom it has immense leverage to achieve human rights reforms so that athletes, journalists and fans can participate across the world without having their basic rights breached.
So strongly do the Matildas feel about women’s rights that they launched a global campaign in recent years for World Cup prizemoney equity and they will need to make an informed decision, with the help of their player’s association, as to how they respond on behalf of women, and female athletes everywhere.
Australian sport is leading the way both domestically and, in some ways internationally on gender balance, equality and representation and must respond to demonstrate our commitment to these principles.
Refusing this sponsorship as hosts until such time further reforms for Saudi women are implemented would be a statement that positions Australian and New Zealand sport as leaders and active catalysts for women’s and human rights around the world.
That is exactly what sport is supposed to be. And precisely what FIFA aims to avoid.
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