You really have to take a few steps back to best take in the full majesty of Fifa’s lack of foresight.
They looked at the controversies over the hosting of the men’s World Cup in Qatar. They looked at the demographic of the women’s game and its audience. They understood the issues with the rights of women and the LGBTQ+ community in Saudi Arabia. And they thought that, yes, Visit Saudi would be an appropriate, non-controversial, sponsor of the flagship tournament in the women’s game. Or, they barely thought at all.
The deal was there, the money was right and nothing else really mattered. Fifa’s own website details its “unwavering commitment to look after football’s most important protagonists – the players”, but even a minute spent dwelling on their likely reaction would have prevented this sorry saga. Either they spotted it and didn’t care, or didn’t spot it at all; you pick your favourite. But telling anyone involved in this tournament to “Visit Saudi” is a tough sell.
And so now Fifa stand at the bottom of their own hole, spade in hand, asking for tips on how to dig upwards. Not only have they angered and alienated stakeholders in the women’s game, their reported abandonment of the Visit Saudi deal has seemingly angered the Saudi government too. In trying to please everybody, they have pleased nobody. “Touch the World, Build a Better Future,” is one of Fifa’s slogans. Better luck next time.
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Saudi ministers are reported to be furious that its progress on women’s rights and women’s football is not being recognised by the wider world. To which the answer is: tough luck. If it’s OK with you, the women’s game will reserve its congratulations on your progress for when women no longer have to obtain male guardian permission to get married, leave prison or obtain sexual healthcare and do not face punishment for such crimes as “disobedience”. This doesn’t have to change, but be prepared to miss out on certain advantages if it doesn’t.
The backlash to the idea was, predictably to everyone but world football’s governing body, swift and damning. Football Australia’s chief executive, James Johnson, said that his organisation would not be comfortable with any deal that included Visit Saudi. His counterpart at New Zealand Football, Andrew Pragnell, said that he believed Fifa would and should rethink the arrangement.
More interesting was the willingness of players to speak out; this is their victory. Alex Morgan and Megan Rapinoe, two of the most recognisable faces in the sport, labelled the involvement of Visit Saudi as “totally inappropriate” and “outrageous”. Netherlands and Arsenal striker Vivianne Miedema told Fifa that they should be “deeply ashamed”. She presumably hasn’t met them much.
This is in stark contrast to the compartmentalised, vague criticism from national FAs and players over the men’s World Cup in Qatar (although Australia’s players did stand up). It is easier to protest against a sponsorship arrangement than the tournament host itself, no doubt, but let’s not veer into whataboutery. Had Visit Saudi been announced as a sponsor of World Cup 2022, there would have been no protest.
If this hasn’t already sent a message to Fifa, it should: underestimate the power of these players at your peril. This is not the men’s game, where heads stay lowered beneath the parapet for fear of upsetting the paymasters. In the women’s game, participants feel a greater sense of ownership and harbour an inbuilt protectionism of their sport. Here, it really does feel like the game of the people, for the people. This is their tournament, not the sponsors’.
Every one of the players at this year’s World Cup is already a campaigner by the very nature of their presence. They have fought against inequality and underinvestment in a system that was actively designed against them, just for deserved relevance and respect. They are used to sniffing out bullshit and they are more than prepared to call out the stench.
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