The Guardian reported that climate activists, including former and current professional athletes, urged FIFA to drop Saudi Aramco as a sponsor and planned protests at five US World Cup venues and other sports arenas. It said two planned Sunday protests were outside matches at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles and Hard Rock Stadium in Miami.
FIFA and Aramco announced the partnership in April 2024. FIFA said Aramco had become a Major Worldwide Partner, exclusive in the energy category, with rights covering the 2026 men's World Cup and the 2027 Women's World Cup, and that the agreement runs through the end of 2027. Aramco's own partnership material says the company is working with FIFA across the 2026 tournament and other events, including a Houston host-city sponsorship announcement in June 2026.
The governance issue is the connection between sponsor category and tournament conditions. Climate Central said extremely hot June-July days are increasing at all but two 2026 World Cup stadiums, creating health risks for players and fans. World Weather Attribution said human-induced climate change has increased the likelihood of matches reaching a 28C wet-bulb-globe-temperature threshold it described as unsafe for play. FIFPRO, the global players' union, said in a 2025 heat study that players were monitored in matches where ambient temperature exceeded 32C and wet-bulb-globe temperature exceeded 28C, and argued that current guidelines did not do enough to protect health and performance.
Wet-bulb-globe temperature is not the same as the number on a weather app. It combines heat, humidity, wind and solar radiation, which is why sports bodies use it to assess exertion risk. That makes it central to football governance: heat policy affects kick-off times, hydration breaks, medical planning and what organisers owe to spectators in queues and exposed seats.