Fifa urged to drop Saudi oil giant Aramco as activists target World Cup

Carlens Arcus of Haiti keeps his eye on the ball in the World Cup Group C match against Scotland in Boston on 13 june. Photograph: Michael Zemanek/Shutterstock View image in fullscreen Carlens Arcus of Haiti keeps his eye on the ball in the World Cup Group C match against Scotland in Boston on 13 june. Photograph: Michael Zemanek/Shutterstock Fifa urged to drop Saudi oil giant Aramco as activists target World Cup Fifa has defended its Aramco sponsorship, saying revenues are reinvested back into football at all levels As scorching temperatures beat down on World Cup soccer games across North America, climate activists – including former and current professional athletes – are calling for Fifa and other professional sporting organizations to cut ties with the oil and gas industry. “Sport, especially football, has the power to influence and inspire billions of people,” said David Wheeler, an English former professional footballer, who supports the campaign. “Fifa should be harnessing that power to do good.” This coming Sunday, protesters will demonstrate at or near four 2026 World Cup stadiums and seven other major sporting arenas, chanting and holding signs calling for an end to fossil fuel sponsorships. “People all over the world are watching the World Cup, which is a good reminder that we’re all in this together, that it’s one planet,” said Brent Suter, pitcher for the Los Angeles Angels of Major League Baseball and supporter of the campaign to end “sportswashing”. “It’s a good moment for a big message about the climate.” The protesters’ key target is Saudi Aramco, the exclusive energy sponsor for this year’s tournament, which is also the world’s largest corporate carbon emitter . Players have for years called on Fifa to drop the company as a sponsor, and in May, a group of health, climate science and sports experts signed an open letter highlighting the organization’s Aramco sponsorship, arguing that the “active promotion” of fossil fuels creates “a conflict of interest with the protection of player welfare”. “If you’ll excuse the pun, it’s a big swing, but that is what we want: we want them to drop Aramco and their other oil and gas sponsorship deals,” said Zan Dubin, lead organizer of the day of action. “In this kind of crisis, nobody should be advertising for fossil fuels.” Two of Sunday’s protests will be held outside World Cup matches at SoFi stadium in Los Angeles and Hard Rock stadium in Miami. Organizers are also planning demonstrations near three other 2026 World Cup venues in New Jersey, Seattle and Dallas. Fifa did not respond to a request for comment, but it has defended its Aramco sponsorship amid earlier criticism, saying in 2024 that it “values its partnership with Aramco and its many others commercial and rights partners”. “Fifa is an inclusive organization with many commercial partners also supporting other organizations in football and other sports,” the spokesperson said at the time. “Sponsorship revenues generated by Fifa are