FIFA’s chief football officer Jill Ellis has said she is wary of hypocrisy over the Women’s Club World Cup potentially being held in Qatar.

Ellis, head coach of the USWNT between 2014 and 2019, noted the proliferation of anti-gay bills in the United States when questioned on the inaugural tournament FIFA announced last month would take place in January 2028.

No host nation has been confirmed but it was reported in the Guardian that Qatar were in talks with world football’s governing body. When approached by The Athletic earlier this month, a FIFA spokesperson said that no discussions had yet been held on potential hosts.

Qatar held the men’s World Cup in 2022 and faced scrutiny and international criticism for its human rights record, including the criminalization of homosexuality.

“I’ve not heard anything about that region, at my level. There’s a bidding process — the (FIFA) Council has to vote on it. I’m going to put my personal hat on, there are over 500 bills in the U.S. with anti-gay legislation on them,” Ellis, 59, said in a press briefing on Tuesday when asked about Qatar potentially bidding for the tournament. The American Civil Liberties Union said there were over 600 legislative bills targeting LGBTQ+ rights in the U.S. in 2025.

“That was last year when I started researching this,” Ellis continued. “I also come from the U.S., but right now there’s a big light being shown on that. So I’m very, very careful not to throw stones in glass houses, right?

“We want to try and get as many people interested in this to want to host it.”

In October 2024, 106 professional women’s footballers signed a letter calling on FIFA to drop its partnership with oil company Aramco, majority-owned by the Saudi Arabian government.

The partnership — Aramco will hold sponsorship rights for the 2026 men’s World Cup and 2027 women’s World Cup — was criticized due to Saudi Arabia’s record on women’s and LGBTQ+ rights and climate action, with the letter accusing the deal of “undermining” the women’s game.

On Tuesday, Ellis instead focused of the “massive growth” in women’s football in the region.

“There is, I think, now, 12 teams in the Saudi Arabian League,” she said. “This is me looking at how sport has an incredible ability to transform, educate, enlighten, and I think the more people that can have access to this incredible game, and seeing women play it, I think it’s the for the betterment of everybody.”

Qatar, by contrast, do not have a women’s team in the FIFA rankings after creating a national side in 2009 — the same year that they registered their World Cup bid — not under the umbrella of the Qatar Football Association (QFA) but the Qatar Women’s Sport Committee (QWSC).

FIFA’s bid evaluation report published in 2010 said that Qatar mentions the “establishment of structures for non-elite football (grassroots, women…)” and “promotion of women’s football, including creation of special facilities”.

The report also stated: “It aims to bring all other football stakeholders and areas under the umbrella of the QFA.”

When The Athletic contacted the QFA, the Qatar Olympic Committee and the QWSC to find out if the team still exists, if it falls under the QFA umbrella, what funding and development plans are in place and their upcoming fixture schedule, neither organization replied.

The Women’s Club World Cup will take place across January 5-30 in 2028.