{"id":83459,"date":"2023-02-10T15:45:00","date_gmt":"2023-02-10T15:45:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/kenya\/all-news\/potential-saudi-2023-womens-world-cup-sponsorship-deal-bizarre-says-morgan-2"},"modified":"2023-02-10T15:45:00","modified_gmt":"2023-02-10T15:45:00","slug":"potential-saudi-2023-womens-world-cup-sponsorship-deal-bizarre-says-morgan-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/kenya\/all-news\/potential-saudi-2023-womens-world-cup-sponsorship-deal-bizarre-says-morgan-2","title":{"rendered":"Potential Saudi 2023 Women\u2019s World Cup sponsorship deal \u2018bizarre\u2019, says Morgan"},"content":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Kenya. <\/strong><\/span>Saudi Arabia\u2019s tourism authority potentially sponsoring the 2023 Women\u2019s World Cup is \u201cbizarre\u201d, says United States forward Alex Morgan.<\/p>\n

Earlier this month co-hosts Australia and New Zealand asked Fifa to \u201curgently clarify\u201d reports Visit Saudi is to be named as an official sponsor for the tournament, which starts in July.<\/p>\n

The Gulf kingdom has been accused of human rights abuses. \u201cMorally, it just doesn\u2019t make sense,\u201d said two-time World Cup winner Morgan.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s bizarre that Fifa has looked to have a Visit Saudi sponsorship for the Women\u2019s World Cup when I, myself, Alex Morgan, would not even be supported and accepted in that country.\u201d<\/p>\n

Saudi Arabia has invested heavily in sporting events in recent years but has been accused of using events to \u2018sports wash\u2019 its reputation.<\/p>\n

Women\u2019s rights campaigners have been imprisoned, despite some reforms under crown prince Mohammed bin Salman, such as an end to the ban on women driving.<\/p>\n

Western intelligence agencies claim the crown prince ordered the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi in 2018 – which he denies.<\/p>\n

Why is Saudi Arabia\u2019s involvement in sports controversial?<\/b><\/p>\n

The US Soccer Federation (USSF) said it would voice its concern to world football\u2019s governing body over the sponsorship deal, which has yet to be formally announced.<\/p>\n

\u201cUS Soccer strongly supports human rights and equity for all and believes in the power of our sport to have a positive impact,\u201d the USSF said in a statement to the Athletic on Wednesday.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhile we cannot control how other organisations manage sponsorship selections for the tournaments we compete in, we can voice our concerns and will continue to support our players.\u201d<\/p>\n

The sponsorship deal is part of a new commercial partnership structure that Fifa set up to allow brands to specifically support the women\u2019s game.<\/p>\n

While the size of the deal has not been revealed, insiders claim it will provide a significant boost to the women\u2019s game, and the money generated will be reinvested back into football. \u201cI just don\u2019t understand it,\u201d added Morgan.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat Saudi Arabia can do is put efforts into their women\u2019s team that was just formed only a couple of years ago and doesn\u2019t even have a current ranking, within the Fifa ranking system, because of the such few games that they\u2019ve played.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat would be my advice to them and I really hope that Fifa does the right thing.\u201d<\/p>\n

Saudi Arabia only sent women to the Olympics for the first time in 2012, but it has taken steps to develop women\u2019s football in recent years, with female fans allowed to attend football matches for the first time in 2018.<\/p>\n

The Saudi Arabian Football Federation has appointed two women to its board of directors and created a women\u2019s football department in 2019.<\/p>\n

In 2020, a Women\u2019s Football League was launched, and last month Saudi Arabia hosted and won a four-nation women\u2019s football tournament in their bid to feature in the Fifa women\u2019s world rankings for the first time.<\/p>\n

The Women\u2019s World Cup takes place from 20 July to 20 August in cities across Australia and New Zealand, and organizers believe a record two billion people could watch the tournament.<\/p>\n

For More News And Analysis About Kenya<\/a> Follow Africa-Press<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Kenya. Saudi Arabia\u2019s tourism authority potentially sponsoring the 2023 Women\u2019s World Cup is \u201cbizarre\u201d, says United States forward Alex Morgan. Earlier this month co-hosts Australia and New Zealand asked Fifa to \u201curgently clarify\u201d reports Visit Saudi is to be named as an official sponsor for the tournament, which starts in July. The Gulf […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":83457,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,17],"tags":[6857,7003,544],"class_list":["post-83459","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-news","category-sport","tag-africa-press","tag-africa-press-kenya","tag-kenya"],"yoast_head":"\nPotential Saudi 2023 Women\u2019s World Cup sponsorship deal \u2018bizarre\u2019, says Morgan - kenya<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/kenya\/all-news\/potential-saudi-2023-womens-world-cup-sponsorship-deal-bizarre-says-morgan-2\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Potential Saudi 2023 Women\u2019s World Cup sponsorship deal \u2018bizarre\u2019, says Morgan\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Africa-Press – Kenya. Saudi Arabia\u2019s tourism authority potentially sponsoring the 2023 Women\u2019s World Cup is \u201cbizarre\u201d, says United States forward Alex Morgan. Earlier this month co-hosts Australia and New Zealand asked Fifa to \u201curgently clarify\u201d reports Visit Saudi is to be named as an official sponsor for the tournament, which starts in July. 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