Major sponsors deal with the FIFA fallout

Major sponsors around the world are dealing with the fallout from the FIFA corruption scandal.

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Getty Source: AFP

Major sponsors around the world are dealing with the fallout from the FIFA corruption scandal.

As investigations are launched into the practices of a number of senior officials at the sports body, pressure is on Coca Cola, Adidas, Visa and other sponsors to react.

Will Mumford reports.

The FIFA corruption scandal could hit football's governing body where it hurts most - in the hip pocket*.

As the world game's major corporate sponsors react to the ongoing revelations, their actions are being watched closely.

Dr Con Stavros is an expert in sports marketing from RMIT.

He says although allegations of corruption are not new for FIFA, the arrests and indictments of officials change the scale of the issue for its partners.

"For the first time, serious questions have to be asked around do they want to be associated with this organisation in it's current form. That's something totally dramatic in itself."

At this stage none of FIFA's main partners say they will drop their sponsorship.

But they are putting FIFA on notice.

McDonalds says it takes matters of ethics and corruption very seriously.

Coca Cola says the controversy has tarnished the mission and ideals of the FIFA World Cup

And Visa went further, saying it will reassess sponsorship unless FIFA takes immediate steps to address the issue.

The United Nations says it is reviewing its arrangements with FIFA and monitoring the situation.

Strategic marketing consultant Michael Field says private companies will be considering a range of factors when deciding how to proceed.

"It's a very fine balancing act. They would be closely looking at the agreements they have in place with the sporting body, they'd be having a close look at what they're own internal governance and ethics policies are, and they'll be monitoring public sentiment very, very closely. And those three things are all on the dashboard of their decision making process and if one of those overheats they may react to that, but you can't tell which one that might be first."

There also remain questions around how the scandal will affect pre-arranged deals for the 2018 and 2022 World Cups.

But sports law expert Dr Matt Harvey, believes such deals might help protect the organisation.

"The amount of deals in place may be FIFA's salvation, that it would just be too difficult to unravel them. I certainly think the arrangements for the 2018 world cup in Russia can't be undone. I think there's possibly some hope for Qatar."

Dr Harvey says the stakes are too high.

"Big contracts, lots of money, lots of national prestige at stake and I don't see those sponsors and countries walking away just because there's been found to be strong suspicions of widespread corruption within FIFA.

Con Stavros says the handling of corruption scandals at the International Olympic Committee is a good precedent for FIFA to clean up its act.

But he says the powerbrokers of world football are not new to handling Public Relations disasters.

"I suspect FIFA are pretty good at this, they have been running against allegations of all sort for the last couple of decades, and they seem to emerge relatively unscathed."

He says, although a major sponsor breaking from the organisation might not diminish its power, it could still have a strong effect.

"What will be really dramatic is if one breaks ranks, you can imagine one of those major break ranks, that would be extraordinary and it could really be that house of cards where pulling one of those major sponsors out starts to bring other sponsors down. It might be a symbolic act as there'll be plenty of other money to go into the sport, but it will be a strong symbolic act if it happens."


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4 min read

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By Will Mumford


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