Visit Saudi, the Gulf nation’s tourist board, is set to be unveiled as a sponsor of this summer’s FIFA Women’s World Cup in Australia and New Zealand.
FIFA announced in December 2021 that Visa would be its first “global women’s football partner” and Australia’s Commonwealth Bank (CommBank) has already been named as an “official supporter” of the tournament.
As well as including 32 teams and taking place in two countries for the first time, the World Cup will also have a new commercial strategy as world football’s governing body attempts to capitalise on the growing interest in the women’s game.
Saudi Arabia’s involvement, however, is likely to draw interest given the country’s human rights record, which has been described as “appalling” by Amnesty International.
The country’s men’s senior side pulled off an enormous upset at the Qatar World Cup last year by beating Argentina in the group stage but, as FIFA’s own website reports, “women’s football is rather new in Saudi Arabia”.
Women were not allowed to watch football matches until 2018 and Saudi’s Women’s Football League was launched in 2020.
This month, the Saudi Arabia women’s national team hosted and won a four-team friendly event in a bid to secure a FIFA women’s ranking for…
