Sponsors show concern over FIFA handling of tournament controversies

Amid the scandals that has been troubling FIFA as of late, sponsors are feeling jittery on how the world soccer league has been handling allegations. BBC News said FIFA President Sepp Blatter is being pressured by several of the organization's biggest sponsors, namely Sony, Adidas, Coca-Cola, Visa and Hyundai/Kia, who have already taken in public their worries, for one, about the claims of wrongdoing in the bidding process for the hosting rights to one of the biggest sports event in the world.

Legelbrief said tht five of FIFA's six major sponsors have already expressed their concerns regarding the Qatar bid. Emirates Airlines have so far opted out to provide a public comment on the matter. Oil company BP and the maker of Budweiser beer have also voiced out their concerns about Qatari officials allegedly bribing their way with money and lavish gifts in order to win the bidding process.

On the other hand, Blatter has chosen to direct his frustration with the brouhaha over the Qatar bid to British media, whom he lambasted about its "racist" ways that could threaten the very existence of the governing body of world football, The Guardian said.

At the Asian Football Confederation's pre-World Cup gathering in São Paulo, he was quoted as saying, "We have seen what the British press has published. I don't know what the reasoning is behind this but we must maintain unity. (Fifa's detractors wanted) to destroy, not the game, but they want to destroy the institution."

The sponsors were right to worry about the troubled FIFA, considering that it has started the tournament in the wrong foot, thanks to the bribery allegations. According to Forbes, Adidas , Coca-Cola , Emirates, Hyundai Motor Group, Sony and Visa reportedly pay some $25-50 million per year to FIFA. For second-tier sponsors like Budweiser, Castrol, Continental, Johnson & Johnson and McDonald's, plus European organic food producer Moy Park, Brazilian telecom company Oi and Yingli Solar, the world's largest solar panel manufacturer, they reportedly pay in the range of $10-25 million annually. The money spent on its association with FIFA, and especially with the World Cup is warranted considering that it is one of the most watched tournaments in the world, and it is a company's dream to be associated with a brand that stands for unity, peace, happiness and all the good things that consumers can think of once the latter makes their purchases in goods and services.

Forbes said that the companies are featured on the world soccer group's website and in the latter's promotional materials for the World Cup. Their signages also appear at matches and air commercials during the tournament coverage. If a company has a FIFA-feature ad that's equally memorable, chances are it will last a long time on the Internet, and several more World Cup tourneys later.

These attempts at fan, or more likely consumer engagement leads to millions of revenue, if you factor in millions of television and Internet viewers. For the bribery scandal to take down at least one of the major companies' cash cows, a loss in return of investment is an unacceptable factor.

Tags

FIFA, Qatar World Cup bid controversy, FIFA Sepp Blatter, Michael Garcia

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