The Saudi tourism agency "Visit Saudi" is expected to join giants such as Adidas, Coca-Cola and Visa in sponsoring the championship this summer, where Sweden hopes to go far after silver at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics.

"We are very disappointed that the Australian Football Association has not been consulted in this matter," the association writes in a statement.

The New Zealand Football Association issued its own statement.

"If this information is correct, we are shocked and disappointed that we were not asked," writes the union.

Although Fifa chief Gianni Infantino sat next to Saudi Arabia's crown prince Mohammed bin Salman at the World Cup in Qatar, the information is surprising.

"Ironic if Saudi Arabia would sponsor the biggest women's championship"

- It would be very ironic if the Saudi tourism industry were to sponsor the biggest women's championship of all.

This is because a woman in Saudi Arabia cannot have a job without permission from a man, says Amnesty International's Australian representative Nikita White, according to Reuters.

Saudi Arabia has made a bet and started a women's league that attracts quite a crowd.

Saudi Arabia's Al Nassr recently bought Cristiano Ronaldo, who left Manchester United at the start of the World Cup in Qatar, giving him an annual salary of SEK 2.27 billion per year (including advertising assignments).

The newly crowned Argentine world champion Lionel Messi is a tourism ambassador for Visit Saudi, something he has been severely criticized for.

Saudi Arabia is in the bidding process for the 2030 Men's World Cup, a decision to be made in 2024.