Football Ferns great Maia Jackman is disappointed at Fifa’s suggested Saudi Arabian sponsorship

One of New Zealand’s biggest Ferns, Maia Jackman, is calling on Fifa to reconsider after the “outcry” on the Arabian rock platform is “against everything that the World Cup represents”.

Jackman – part of the Super League Champions team promoting the 2023 Fifa Women’s World Cup – joins the growing clamor to visit the Saudis to become a tournament sponsor.

Opponents include New Zealand Target and Target Australia, who jointly hosted the July 20-August 20 tournament, and the New Zealand Government and National Labor Opposition.

Jackman was blindsided by the reported sponsorship – yet confirmed by Fifa – and said that although the tournament’s ambassador feels he knows nothing about it, it could potentially undermine the gains of women’s football.

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“It’s leftfield,” he said.

“It’s pretty disappointing to see something like this happen with the right people out there.” [concerns]women especially, in Arabia.

“It’s against everything that the World Cup represents. It’s the complete opposite end of the spectrum, really.

Jackman said the 32-team tournament – the world’s largest single-code women’s sport – “celebrates and tries to elevate and advance women’s football and women’s sport”.

She was upset, “then you’ve got a country that represses women and the rights they have there,” they’re trying to sponsor the World Cup.

Jackman said Fifa championed World Cup values ​​such as gender equality, but felt like “a bit of a disservice when they throw something like that into the mix”.

While Jackman understood Saudi Arabia was “slowly” trying to improve things for women, he felt “it’s not the time or the place to put it in conjunction with a tournament that’s really uplifting and celebrating women and showcasing and advancing women.”

“Like a woman, [Saudi Arabia] You would not be safe in the country of Qatar.”

Jackman also felt that the decision to accept Saudi sponsorship could be unfair to other tournament tricks that have participated in World Values, “like Xero and Visa and Bank Reip, who have put a lot into it. They’re going to put this kind of sponsorship in line. I’m not sure how you feel about that.”

Jackman, who won 50 Football Ferns caps from 1993 to 2010, took aim at New Zealand and praised Australia itself for opposing the Saudi championship. The host of confederations signed a joint letter to Fifa saying the deal could “tarnish” the tournament.

“They jump into it so quickly it shows you where their assets lie and sit,” Jackman said.

“We’ve been progressive for at least a decade and it only takes so many steps back.

Fifa, accepting the sponsorship of the Saudi visit, would send “an affirmative message, which in all opposition to their announcement to help shape the moment for women sometimes on the pitch with the Women’s World Cup tournament marking Ultra Greatness”. It is a mistake.

“It’s just so far back, when we had such a hard and such desire for women’s sport and gender equality.”

Jackman said it would be a blow “not only to the football community, but to anyone working to promote women’s sport in general”.

It was “such a global sport, the most watched sport in the world for women,” she said.

“FIFA has so much potential to change the world for women and this kind of thing is coming out.

Yes [the Saudi sponsorship] he enjoys the way he affects people with play. It’s hard when we’re pushing so hard.”

Jackman hopes the outcry is already “too much” and will force FIFA to push back.

“It’s hard to win because it takes so much to do it. Of course it’s money, but it’s hard to get your head around it. Is there enough noise from the football community and outside the community to get the plan delivered? Is it more than money? I hope so.

“Of course there are so many other commercial opportunities, and sponsors who want to put this World Cup back and have similar assets that can come on board and say, ‘hey, we’ll do it instead.’

“Then we wouldn’t be in this situation.”