US women’s national team star Alex Morgan has branded a potential Visit Saudi sponsorship for the Women’s World Cup "bizarre", going on to implore the country to "put efforts into" their fledgling women's team and questioning the morality of the decision.
Last week, it was reported that Saudi Arabia’s tourism authority is set to be unveiled as one of the sponsors for the upcoming Women’s World Cup hosted in Australia and New Zealand.
The prospect has sparked fierce backlash from the women’s football community, with Morgan’s comments dovetailing messages sent from the Australian and New Zealand football association to FIFA asking for the situation to be clarified.
The two-time World Cup winner said: "I think it’s bizarre that FIFA has looked to have a Visit Saudi sponsorship for the Women’s World Cup when I, myself, Alex Morgan, would not even be supported or accepted in that country, so I just don’t understand it.
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"I think that what Saudi Arabia can do is put efforts into their women’s team that was only just formed a couple of years ago, and doesn’t even have a current ranking within the current FIFA ranking system because of the such few games played so that would be my advice to them.
"I hope that FIFA does the right thing. Pretty much everyone has spoken out against that because morally it just doesn’t make sense."
The Australian and New Zealand football associations claim they were not involved in the decision-making process in selecting Visit Saudi as a potential sponsor. FIFA have yet to comment on the potential deal.
Saudi Arabia’s Women’s Football League was launched in 2020, two years after women were permitted to attend football matches. In January, the women’s national team hosted and won a four-team friendly tournament in a bid to secure a first-ever FIFA women’s ranking.
The Gulf nation’s human rights record has been described as "appalling" by Amnesty International. Homosexuality and gay marriage are illegal, making the potential sponsorship unsettling for a tournament in which a number of prominent stars are gay.
The Women’s World Cup is set to commence on 20 July when co-hosts New Zealand take on Norway.
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