World soccer governing body FIFA has signed a partnership with oil and gas conglomerate Saudi Aramco that will run through to the end of 2027, it said in a statement on Thursday.
FIFA Headquarter in Zurich, Switzerland © Mena Today
World soccer governing body FIFA has signed a partnership with oil and gas conglomerate Saudi Aramco that will run through to the end of 2027, it said in a statement on Thursday.
The four-year deal will see Aramco become a worldwide partner of FIFA, including in major tournaments such as the World Cup 2026 and the Women's World Cup 2027.
"This partnership will assist FIFA to successfully deliver its flagship tournaments... enable us to provide enhanced support to our 211 FIFA member associations across the globe," FIFA president Gianni Infantino said in the statement.
Saudi Arabia has been pouring billions into sports worldwide such as golf, football, motorsports and martial arts. Sport is one of the pillars of the government's Vision 2030 economic diversification plan that seeks to build new industries and create jobs. Some critics have called it an effort to distract from its human rights record.
Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthi militants fired on Saudi oil installations in two ports on the Red Sea coast on Saturday, but the United States held back from launching air strikes on Iran itself for the first night in two weeks.
Yemen is edging towards the resumption of a more than decade-old frozen conflict, Yemeni officials, Western diplomats and analysts say, as attacks on Saudi infrastructure and shipping by Iran-aligned Houthis test the patience of the kingdom and the Yemeni government forces it backs.
President Donald Trump said Thursday that a civilian nuclear cooperation deal signed with Saudi Arabia a day earlier is "totally subject" to the kingdom normalizing relations with Israel through the Abraham Accords, adding a significant condition that was not part of the original agreement as announced.
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