Miedema, Charles sign petition against FIFA-Aramco partnership

Vivianne Miedema and Niamh Charles are among over 100 professional female football players who have signed a letter of petition for FIFA to end its sponsorship deal with Saudi oil company Aramco.

FIFA has announced Aramco will be a major partner ahead of the men’s 2026 World Cup and Women’s World Cup the following year.

Aramco is the world’s largest state-owned oil and gas company and the petition flags both the impact it has had on the climate crisis as well as “Saudi Arabia’s record of human rights violations against women and other minorities, including the LGBTQIA+ community”, in its complaint against the partnership.

“This letter shows that as players this is what we don’t want to stand for and accept within women’s football,” said Netherlands international and Man City forward Miedema.

“It’s simple: this sponsorship is contradicting FIFA’s own commitments to human rights and the planet.”

You can see the petition letter and read more about the campaign here

A FIFA spokesperson said: “FIFA values its partnership with Aramco and its many others commercial and rights partners. FIFA is an inclusive organisation with many commercial partners also supporting other organisations in football and other sports.

“Sponsorship revenues generated by FIFA are reinvested back into the game at all levels and investment in women’s football continues to increase, including for the historic FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023 and its groundbreaking new distribution model. As well as the increased support for teams at the tournament last year, FIFA’s updated Women’s Football Strategy for 2023-2027 further highlights how commercial revenues are reinvested back into the development of the women’s game. FIFA’s financial figures are also published annually.

“In May 2024, the FIFA Congress approved seven standing committees for the women’s game at all levels, including the Women’s Players Committee.”