Anna Nordqvist, a Swedish golfer, has ended her deal to be an ambassador for the Saudi oil company Aramco. She said on Friday that she did this because of the harsh criticism she received over the deal.
In an interview with the Swedish news agency TT, Nordqvist, 35, said, “It didn’t really work out the way I thought it would.”
She said, “I need to think about myself and this hasn’t made me feel good.” She also said, “I wasn’t really ready to get so much hate and mean comments from people who don’t even know me.”
The Saudi Arabian government owns most of Aramco. In recent years, the Saudi government has spent billions of dollars on international sports events. Some people say that the conservative kingdom is “sportswashing” its record on human rights.
Amnesty International and sports commentators had both said that her relationship was wrong, so when she broke up, they called it “very smart.”
Nordqvist said that when the ambassadorship was announced a year ago, she had hoped it would help her spread the word about women’s golf.
“Money was never why I did it,” she said. “I wanted to do something for women’s golf and especially for the European Tour.”
Nordqvist said that she would still play in Saudi Arabia the following week.
“I want to play in the Solheim Cup, so I need to play in four European Tour tournaments before August,” she said.
“I think it’s important to play around the world and inspire younger people to dream big,” he said.
Henrik Stenson, another Swedish golfer, was stripped of his role as Ryder Cup captain in July of last year after he joined the Saudi-backed LIV Golf tour.
Last year, the rebel LIV tour shook up men’s golf by signing many of the sport’s biggest stars.
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