When the FIFA Men’s World Cup arrives in Toronto soon, it will be accompanied by one of its highly controversial Major Worldwide Partners, Saudi Arabia’s national fossil fuel company, Saudi Aramco.

Aramco is one of the world’s single-largest oil producers. Estimates suggest it was responsible for emitting around 1.79 billion tonnes of greenhouse gases in 2024 alone.

In July 2025, Toronto City Council rejected a motion that would have banned fossil fuel advertisements on publicly owned buildings and assets, including high-traffic places like BMO Field.

Introduced by Coun. Dianne Saxe in 2024, the motion was an attempt to align city policy with Toronto’s climate action goals of reaching net-zero emissions by 2040.

Now, the city will welcome one of the world’s largest advertising platforms, the 2026 FIFA World Cup, with Aramco as one of the major sponsors.

As FIFA comes to town with Aramco in tow, now is the time for Toronto City Council to revive discussions about banning fossil fuel advocacy ads on city assets, including at FIFA’s host venue in the city, BMO Field.

Advertising is a major source of revenue for FIFA. Between 2019 and 2022, the non-profit sporting federation made almost US$1.8 billion from selling marketing rights.

The FIFA-Aramco partnership is slated to run until the end of 2027 and spans the 2026 men’s World Cup and the 2027 women’s World Cup. In 2024, Aramco’s president and CEO Amin H. Nasser said:

“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.”

“Through this partnership with FIFA we aim to contribute to football development and harness the power........

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