New York and Berlin - Visa has told Fifa it could end its sponsorship if soccer’s governing body did not act fast to restore the game’s reputation after senior officials were arrested on corruption charges.
Visa’s statement was the strongest so far as sponsors lined up to express concern about the scandal engulfing the world’s most popular sport and their customers took to social media to threaten a boycott of brands associated with Fifa.
Sponsors are trying to balance the growing sensitivity of consumers to corruption, human rights abuses and environmental issues against their relationship with the body that holds the keys to a billion soccer fans worldwide.
Swift action
“Our disappointment and concern with Fifa in light of today’s developments is profound. As a sponsor, we expect Fifa to take swift and immediate steps to address these issues,” Visa said.
“This starts with rebuilding a culture with strong ethical practices,” it said. “Should Fifa fail to do so, we have informed them that we will reassess our sponsorship.“
US prosecutors issued an indictment on Wednesday accusing nine Fifa officials and five sports media and promotions executives of bribes involving more than $150 million (R1.8 billion) over 24 years.
Airline Emirates and electronics maker Sony said in November they would not renew deals with Fifa, as corruption allegations arose around the bidding for the next two World Cups in Russia and Qatar.
The two were among Fifa’s six main partners who together paid a total of $177m last year for the right to advertise in World Cup stadiums and use the Fifa trademark.
Fifa’s longest standing partners are German sportswear maker Adidas and Coca-Cola. Adidas has been the provider of the World Cup match ball since 1970 and has a partnership lasting until 2030, while the current deal for Coca-Cola, which has had a formal association since 1974 and has advertised in every World Cup stadium since 1950, lasts until 2022.
That perhaps explains why their reactions to Wednesday’s news were more muted than Visa, the world’s largest credit and debit card company, which only became a Fifa partner in 2007 and recently extended the relationship until 2022.
“This lengthy controversy has tarnished the mission and ideals of the Fifa World Cup and we have repeatedly expressed our concerns about these serious allegations,” Coca-Cola said.
Adidas, which is the world’s biggest maker of soccer balls, boots and shirts, stopped short of full criticism, calling instead for Fifa “to continue to establish and follow transparent compliance standards”.
Meanwhile, Adidas’ rival Nike, which is not a Fifa partner but sponsors many of the world’s top teams, said it was co-operating with authorities.
The indictment said that in 1996, a global sports company, which was not identified in court documents, agreed to pay $40m in “marketing fees” to an affiliate of the marketing agent of the Brazil national team with a Swiss bank account.
That was an apparent reference to Nike, which sponsors the Brazil national team.
US attorney-general Loretta Lynch declined to comment on whether there was any liability for companies that had won marketing rights. “The investigation is continuing and covers all aspects,” she said.
She declined to say if one of the companies was Nike.
Nike later said it was “concerned by the very serious allegations”, adding: “Nike believes in ethical and fair play in both business and sport and strongly opposes any form of manipulation or bribery.”
Earlier concerns
Fifa’s main sponsors were already getting uneasy even before the latest revelations.
Adidas, Visa and Coca-Cola all made statements last week pushing Fifa to take seriously the issue of rights for migrant workers in Qatar, responding to reports of abuses at the 2022 World Cup construction sites.
That came after campaigners designed spoof ads for Fifa sponsors subverting their logos, including a Coca-Cola can dripping with oil and the three stripes of Adidas tweaked to look like a line of gravestones.
The pressure only mounted after Wednesday’s news, with social media full of appeals for brands to cut ties with Fifa.
But brand experts were sceptical of a mass exodus of Fifa sponsors.
Rob Prazmark, the president of 21 Sports & Entertainment Marketing Group, said companies were unlikely to pull sponsorships altogether.
“These sponsors put a lot of money into associating with the World Cup. They’ll give them a little bit of time to get their house in order.”
Reuters