Soccer/ World Cup Controversy—
By Kathryn Carley, producer, Commonwealth News Service, a bureau of Public News Service.
Critics of FIFA World Cup sponsor Aramco say the Saudi-owned oil giant is using soccer to sportswash its image as one of the world’s largest climate polluters.
Aramco signed an estimated $400 million, multiyear deal with FIFA, securing high-profile branding rights for both the men’s and women’s tournaments.
Kate Sinding Daly, senior vice president for law and policy at the Conservation Law Foundation in Boston, said fans should be able to support their teams without being surrounded by advertising from fossil fuel companies, which she said harm the environment and people worldwide.
“We all deserve to be able to enjoy the events without having to support major contributors to climate pollution that’s having a direct impact on the game that we love,” Daly said.
This year’s World Cup is expected to be one of the hottest tournaments on record, and crowds in U.S. host cities on the East and West Coasts are already dealing with excessive heat. Numerous organizations are calling on FIFA to drop Aramco as a sponsor and uphold its own climate commitments.
Sportswashing Common Practice
The practice of sportswashing is not new. For decades, major tobacco companies spent billions of dollars to link cigarettes and chewing tobacco with baseball, making the products appear natural and athletic. Public health groups also argue Coca-Cola sponsors the Olympic Games to sportswash its ties to plastic pollution and global obesity rates.
Daly said Aramco, like most oil and gas producers, works to prevent meaningful climate action while using its advertisements to polish its image during one of the world’s most unifying sporting events.
“They sometimes say platitudes about renewable energy or a clean energy future, but at the same time, they are completely driven by expanding fossil fuel production and getting every last drop of oil out of the ground,” Daly said.
Several women soccer players have signed onto a letter calling on FIFA to cut ties with Aramco because of the Saudi government’s human rights record.
Meanwhile, men’s teams now playing across North America are adjusting to above-average temperatures, which scientists say are a result of climate change. A new rule this year requires referees to stop play midway through each half for a mandatory 3-minute water break.
