At a media conference to announce the Matildas' squad for the forthcoming Cup of Nations tournament, an FA spokesperson said the federation was still awaiting confirmation and justification from FIFA, having written to them in the past 48 hours after news broke on social media, as reported by ABC.

"Football Australia understands [that] FIFA has entered into a destination partnership agreement in respect to the FIFA Women’s World Cup Australia & New Zealand 2023", an official statement said.

"We are very disappointed that Football Australia [was] not consulted on this matter prior to any decision being made.

"Football Australia and New Zealand Football have jointly written to FIFA to urgently clarify the situation."

Saudi Arabia's record regarding the rights of women and the LGBTQIA+ community has been heavily criticised by multiple human rights groups, including Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch.

Women were not allowed to play sport, enter public football stadiums, or apply for a driver's licence in Saudi Arabia until 2018.

While there has been some reform in recent years, it is still the case that women must obtain permission from their male guardian to be married, leave prison or obtain access to sexual or reproductive healthcare.

Homosexuality and same-sex marriage are both outlawed according to the nation's uncodified Islamic law.

Visit Saudi is set to join major brands, such as Adidas, Coca-Cola, Visa, and the Commonwealth Bank, in sponsoring the world's biggest women's sports event.

All are organisations that have publicly championed the rights of women and the LGBTQIA+ community in the past.

As Nikita White, an Amnesty Australia campaigner, told The Guardian: "It would be quite the irony for Saudi's tourism body to sponsor the largest celebration of women's sport in the world when you consider that, as a woman in Saudi Arabia, you can't even have a job without the permission of your male guardian…

"The Saudi authorities sponsoring the Women's World Cup would be a textbook case of sport-washing."

The Gulf nation is also set to host the 2027 AFC Asian Cup and is rumoured to be bidding to host the men's World Cup in 2030.

When asked about the potential sponsorship, Matildas head coach Tony Gustavsson referred to the FA's official statement, but said that the team and the federation are firm in their own principles.

"I know what these women stand for … and what the federation stands for," he said.

Sources have suggested that the Matildas could stage a protest similar to the Australian men’s public statement in the run-up to the Qatar 2022 World Cup, using their platform to draw attention to the country's human rights record.