There is cautious but growing optimism among Football Australia officials that Fifa will drop plans to make Visit Saudi a key sponsor of the Women’s World Cup. Football Australia was left blindsided by reports in January linking Saudi Arabia’s tourism arm with this year’s tournament in Australia and New Zealand, given the Saudi state’s appalling human rights record and ban on same-sex marriage.
Sources close to Football Australia are hopeful that a lack of any public announcement of a deal, combined with widespread opposition to it within the game, creates a window for Fifa to change its mind without publicly losing face.
