adminLONDON. – World soccer governing body Fifa confirmed yesterday that three major sponsors have ended their relationships with the organisation, but said there was nothing unusual about the development.Oil manufacturers Castrol, tyre company Continental and healthcare giant Johnson and Johnson have followed Emirates and Sony by choosing not to renew contracts with Fifa that expired last year.
British newspaper the Daily Telegraph claimed the three companies had been deterred by allegations of corruption that have been levelled at Fifa following the bidding process for the 2018 and 2022 World Cups.
But in a statement sent to AFP, Fifa marketing director Thierry Weil said: “Rotations at the end of a sponsorship cycle are commonplace in the sports industry and have continuously occurred since the commercialisation of the Fifa World Cup began.
“It is natural that as brands’ strategies evolve they reassess their sponsorship properties. The contracts with Castrol, Continental and Johnson and Johnson were always planned to run until the end of 2014 and therefore expired on December 31 2014 accordingly.”
Weil added that Fifa was in “advanced negotiations with a number of companies” regarding sponsorship deals for the next World Cup cycle.
Fifa has already signed up Russian oil and gas giant Gazprom as a commercial partner ahead of the 2018 World Cup in Russia.
Quoted by the Telegraph, a spokesperson from Castrol said: “We have not been sponsors of Fifa since, I believe, the World Cup last year.”
Johnson and Johnson stated: “It was a decision that was made for business reasons after a comprehensive review.”
Continental told the newspaper: “It was a great platform for us and now we’re using football on a regionalised level.”
British politician Damian Collins, who is leading a campaign to impose reform on Fifa, said the sponsors’ withdrawals proved that the organisation had become a “toxic brand”.
Fifa and its 78-year-old Swiss president Sepp Blatter have been dogged by accusations of corruption ever since Russia and Qatar won the rights to host the 2018 and 2022 World Cups in 2010.
Blatter, who has presided over Fifa since 1998, will seek a fifth term in office in a presidential election scheduled to take place on May 29.
Sponsors bring in at least US$1,5 billion in revenue over each four-year cycle. Continental Tyres had been a World Cup sponsor since 2010, Castrol since 2008 and Johnson & Johnson signed a deal for a single cycle in 2011. Its decision not to renew will increase fears in Zurich that Fifa’s image is becoming unsuitable for global brands and will force its commercial department to look more to regional sponsors to fill the roster.
Increasingly, Fifa is likely to look to companies in Russia and the Middle East – the regions that will play host to the next two World Cups – to fill the gap. There are also plans to introduce more regional sponsorship tiers in an attempt to target developing markets.
Those campaigning for reform at Fifa have long argued it is only through pressure from sponsors and broadcasters, who pour money into its coffers, that enough pressure will build to force fundamental change.
Visa, Adidas and Sony delivered coded warnings over the bribery and corruption allegations that engulfed Fifa on the eve of the Brazil World Cup, calling on the governing body to ensure the claims were properly investigated.
It emerged late last year that Sony and Emirates, two of Fifa’s six top-tier partners, would end their relationships with the governing body, which is hopeful of replacing them with Samsung and Qatar Air respectively.
Adidas, which has a longstanding close relationship with Fifa and Blatter, recently renewed its sponsorship deal until 2030 while Visa’s contract runs until 2022. Coca-Cola, which became Fifa’s first sponsor in 1978, also has a long-term deal.
Fifa’s top-tier sponsors pay between US$24 million and US$44 million a year, while second-tier World Cup sponsors – who also included Budweiser, MTN and McDonalds – pay an estimated US$10 million to US$25 million a year.
Last year Michael Hershman, a former member of Fifa’s independent governance committee and co-founder of Transparency International, criticised sponsors for not stepping up to the plate.
“They have simply paid lip service,” he said. “Saying in Press releases: ‘Oh yes, the sport needs a greater degree of integrity and transparency.’ But they haven’t put their money where their mouth is.”
Increasingly, brands have sought to focus on their relationship with the glamour of the World Cup and “fan engagement” campaigns rather than with the tainted Fifa brand. However, confirmation of the latest wave of non-renewals could lead other sponsors to consider their positions. – AFP.
Online Reporter