KIGALI, March 16 (Reuters) – “Visit Saudi” will not sponsor the Women’s World Cup in Australia and New Zealand later this year, but FIFA president Gianni Infantino has not ruled out future business opportunities for the Persian Gulf country. in women’s soccer.
The Saudi Arabian Tourism Office had been put forward as a possible sponsor of the expanded 32-team tournament, drawing harsh criticism from various groups, although Infantino said it was all a “storm in a teacup.”
The biggest upset came from Football Australia, who stated that there was an “overwhelming consensus that this partnership does not fit our collective vision for the tournament and does not live up to our expectations.”
Other leading figures in women’s soccer were also critical of the plan, such as veteran United States striker Alex Morgan, who claimed it was “morally” nonsense.
“There were talks with ‘Visit Saudi’, but in the end they did not lead to a contract. So it was a storm in a teacup,” Infantino said at the FIFA Congress held on Thursday in Kigali.
“But, having said that, FIFA is an organization made up of 211 countries. There is nothing wrong with accepting sponsorships from Saudi Arabia, China, the United States, Brazil or India.”
Infantino added that critics of the possible sponsorship were ignorant of commercial agreements that already exist between companies in Saudi Arabia and Australia.
“There is a double standard that I don’t really understand. There is no problem, there is no contract, but of course we want to see how we can involve the Saudi sponsors, and the Qatari sponsors, in women’s football in general,” added Infantino. (Edited in Spanish by Javier López de Lérida)
Source: Ambito
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