In what can be called another feather in Aramco’s cap, the Saudi energy giant has entered into a four-year global partnership with FIFA (International Federation of Association Football), the international governing body of football.
With sponsorship rights for several events, including the eagerly awaited FIFA World Cup 2026 and FIFA Women’s World Cup 2027, the global energy giant will now be called FIFA’s “Major Worldwide Partner Exclusive” in the energy category.
The agreement, which is valid until the 2027 end, will build on a shared commitment to innovation and development. Through this partnership, Aramco and FIFA hope to use football’s global influence to drive meaningful social initiatives.
“Through this partnership with FIFA we aim to contribute to football development and harness the power of sport to make an impact around the globe. It reflects our ambition to enable vibrant communities and extends our backing of sport as a platform for growth. Our existing relationship with the Saudi football team Al-Qadsiah, our support for women’s golf through the Aramco Team Series, and our backing of F1 in Schools each demonstrate the possibilities of such partnerships to create pathways for opportunity, positively impact society and promote development at the grassroots level,” Amin H Nasser, Aramco President & CEO said, as reported by Zawya.
“We are delighted to welcome Aramco to FIFA’s family of global partners. This partnership will assist FIFA to successfully deliver its flagship tournaments over the next four years and, as is the case with all our commercial agreements, enable us to provide enhanced support to our 211 FIFA member associations across the globe. Aramco has a strong track record of supporting world-class events, but also a focus on developing grassroots sport initiatives. We look forward to collaborating with them on a variety of initiatives over the coming years,” Gianni Infantino, FIFA President said during the event.
Continuing the momentum further, Aramco has now signed a joint venture pact with China-based Rongsheng Petrochemical to advance its liquids-to-chemicals strategy. The joint venture will be established in Saudi Aramco Jubail Refinery Co., also known as SASREF.
Located in Jubail Industrial City, the facility as of April 2024, processes crude oil into petroleum products with a production capacity of 305,000 barrels per day. Rongsheng recently signed a cooperation framework agreement to explore the potential acquisition of a 50% stake in SASREF.
The agreement also lays the groundwork for the development of a liquids-to-chemicals expansion project at SASREF. Additionally, reports also mentioned Aramco’s potential acquisition of a 50% stake in Rongsheng affiliate Ningbo Zhongjin Petrochemical.
Aramco Downstream President, Mohammed Y. Al-Qahtani, said, “These discussions highlight our ambition to advance our liquids-to-chemicals strategy with strategic partner Rongsheng, both in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and China.”
“In building on our existing relationship, we aim to advance our expansion in a key geography and attract new investment to the Saudi downstream sector,” he added.
In July 2023, Aramco acquired a 10% interest in Rongsheng through its subsidiary Aramco Overseas, based in the Netherlands. Rongsheng, in turn, holds a 100% equity interest in ZJPC, which operates an aromatics production complex and expresses interest in a joint venture focused on producing purified terephthalic acid.