Football Australia wants talks with FIFA “as soon as possible” to discuss Visit Saudi being a sponsor of this summer’s Women’s World Cup, says Football Australia CEO James Johnson.
The Athletic reported in January that the Gulf nation’s tourist board is set to be unveiled as one of the tournament’s sponsors which takes place in Australia and New Zealand this summer.
The Australia and New Zealand FAs then wrote to FIFA for urgent clarification and expressed their disappointment that FIFA did not consult them.
“This is an important issue,” Johnson told The Athletic. “Although the FIFA Women’s World Cup is not a football Australia competition, it’s happening on our shores. When it comes to inclusion, diversity, and gender equality, this is forefront in our thinking. We take this matter very seriously.
“These are not just words on a piece of paper for Australian football and for Football Australia. Over the past couple of years, we’ve done a world leading gender equality deal where our men and women’s players in our national teams are paid the same. I report to a board that is 50 per cent men and 50 per cent women, we have maternity policies for our women in place.
“These are issues we in Australia are leaders in and something that we hold dear to our…
