Women's soccer players speak out against agreement between FIFA and Saudi oil company Aramco

More than a hundred women's soccer stars, led by former U.S. national team captain Becky Sauerbrunn and Dutch striker Vivianne Miedema, signed an letter as a sign of protest against the sponsorship deal between FIFA and Saudi Arabia's state-owned oil company, Aramco.

They alleged that Saudi Arabia violates the rights of women and the LGBT community. They also criticized the world's top international soccer association for making a deal with a company that damages the environment.

"This sponsorship is much worse than scoring an own goal," they wrote, while proposing that FIFA break the agreement with Aramco and seek "alternative sponsors whose values are in line with gender equality, human rights and the safe future of our planet."

"The safety of those women, the rights of women, LGBTQ+ rights and the health of the planet need to take a much bigger priority over FIFA making more money," Sauerbrunn said.

Miedema said that, with their letter, the signatories reflect what "what we don’t want to stand for and accept within women’s [soccer]," stating that "this sponsorship is contradicting FIFA’s own commitments to human rights and the planet."

This agreement comes before FIFA designates the host of the 2034 World Cup. For now, the only candidate country is Saudi Arabia, so it is likely that it will host the planet's top soccer competition.