Women's World Cup 2023: Co-hosts Australia hopeful Fifa will abandon Saudi-sponsor plan

Football Australia officials are hopeful Fifa will abandon plans to have Saudi Arabia's tourism authority sponsoring the 2023 Women's World Cup.

Co-hosts Australia and New Zealand recently asked Fifa to "urgently clarify" reports Visit Saudi was to be an official sponsor for the tournament.

They have yet to hear back from world football's governing body but maintain they are "not comfortable with it".

The Gulf kingdom has been accused of human rights abuses.

Saudi Arabia has invested heavily in sporting events in recent years but has been accused of using events to 'sportswash' its reputation.

Sources have told the BBC that Football Australia has continued to make opposition to any such deal clear and there are hopes, as a result, that a U-turn is possible. 

"Football Australia has consulted on this matter with key stakeholders, including government and commercial partners, and it was an overwhelming consensus that this partnership does not align with our collective vision for the tournament and falls short of our expectations," said Football Australia chief executive James Johnson.

"Whilst the partnership has not been confirmed by Fifa, based on the consultations we have had with our community, key stakeholders and our own position, we would not be comfortable with it.

"While we await further clarity and information as to the details of the partnership from Fifa, we continue to convey this clear message on behalf of Football Australia, New Zealand Football, and our community."

The Women's World Cup takes place from 20 July to 20 August in cities across Australia and New Zealand, and organisers believe a record two billion people could watch the tournament.

'We welcome everybody to our sport'

United States forward Alex Morgan said "morally, it just doesn't make sense" when speaking about Saudi Arabia's tourism authority reportedly sponsoring the tournament.

England full-back Lucy Bronze agrees with Morgan's comments, as do "all the players" she has spoken to.

"If we want to push women's sport on, we want it to be supported by people who share the philosophies and the views that we share as players and as a game, which is supporting women, which is high-level sport, high-level football, fully inclusive. We welcome everybody to our sport," said the Barcelona player.

"So we'd like to think that the people that support us and are pushing the game have similar views and interests and opinions as we do."

Bronze's Barcelona and England team-mate Keira Walsh said there was a "fine line" between using your platform to push for inclusivity and mixing sport with politics.

"Obviously we want the best and we want inclusivity, but equally it's not about going there and being political at the same time," she said.

The US Soccer Federation (USSF) said it would voice its concern to Fifa, while Amnesty International called the potential deal a "crude exploitation" of the sport.

There are concerns over human rights in Saudi Arabia, women's rights and the use of the death penalty.

Women's rights campaigners have been imprisoned, despite some reform under Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, such as an end to the ban on women driving.

Saudi Arabia only sent women to the Olympics for the first time in 2012, but it has taken steps to develop women's football in recent years, with female fans allowed to attend matches for the first time in 2018.

The Saudi Arabian Football Federation has appointed two women to its board of directors and created a women's football department in 2019.

In 2020, a Women's Football League was launched, and last month Saudi Arabia hosted and won a four-nation women's football tournament in their bid to feature in the Fifa women's world rankings for the first time.

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