By: Ujan Chakraborty
Image Credit: Twitter
Co-hosts Australia and New Zealand appealed to FIFA last week, requesting urgent clarification in response to the Guardian's claim that Visit Saudi will be listed as a key sponsor of the competition, which runs from July 20 to August 20.
The top-ranked team in FIFA, the United States, has won the World Cup twice.
The prospective sponsorship deal between FIFA and the Saudi Arabian Tourism Board for the next Women's World Cup in Australia and New Zealand this summer has been questioned by USA forward Alex Morgan.
"I believe that Saudi Arabia can improve its women's squad, which was just formed a few years ago and has played so few matches that it doesn't even have a current standing in the FIFA ranking system." said Morgan.
Defender Becky Sauerbrunn said if the government genuinely cared about women's sports, they would investigate sexual misconduct and harassment of athletes and provide equal opportunities and support for female and girl athletes, particularly in marginalized places.
The United States Soccer Federation has since released a statement vowing to "raise our concerns," despite the fact that they have no control over which companies FIFA chooses to partner with commercially for the tournaments in which their national teams participate.
"US Soccer strongly supports human rights and equity for all and believes in the power of our sport to have a positive impact," the USSF said in a statement to the Athletic.
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