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FIFA under pressure as 3 more sponsors cut ties

LONDON — Three of FIFA’s biggest sponsors revealed on Thursday that they had joined Sony and Emirates in abandoning football’s beleaguered world governing body.

FIFA, which is led by Sepp Blatter, is a toxic brand, said a UK Member of Parliament. Photo: Getty Images

FIFA, which is led by Sepp Blatter, is a toxic brand, said a UK Member of Parliament. Photo: Getty Images

LONDON — Three of FIFA’s biggest sponsors revealed on Thursday that they had joined Sony and Emirates in abandoning football’s beleaguered world governing body.

Castrol, Continental and Johnson & Johnson all confirmed to Telegraph Sport that they had severed their ties with the Sepp Blatter regime when their contracts expired last year — which proved to be among the most turbulent 12 months in FIFA’s scandal-hit history.

The withdrawal of support from five of the world’s most recognisable brands represents a huge blow to the finances of FIFA, which nets around £1 billion (S$2 billion) from its commercial partners every four years.

None of the five sponsors have openly cited FIFA’s numerous crises as being a reason for walking away, but the departure of so many in quick succession inevitably raises questions about whether it has become toxic.

Sony was one of a number of its commercial backers to express concerns about allegations of wrongdoing around the award of the next two World Cups shortly before last summer’s tournament in Brazil.

The news that the electronics giant and Emirates would not be renewing their contracts as FIFA partners — the highest tier in its portfolio of sponsors — emerged while it was embroiled in a civil war over its inquiry into that scandal. In the incident, the chief investigator quit in protest against attempts to suppress his findings, which FIFA was forced into agreeing to make public when its probe finally concludes.

Emirates had long since decided not to renew its deal, revealing its reasons in a statement in November.

But Castrol, Continental and Johnson & Johnson — who were second-tier official World Cup sponsors — slipped away more quietly, each confirming their departure only when contacted by The Daily Telegraph.

Four of the five brands had long-term deals with FIFA, with Emirates and Continental’s involvement pre-dating the 2006 World Cup and those of Sony and Castrol starting before the 2010 tournament.

Castrol confirmed it was no longer a sponsor after being accused of failing to respond to a letter sent to it by New FIFA Now, a campaign aiming to impose reform on FIFA by putting pressure on those who bankroll it. The organised movement, the first of its kind, which staged its official launch on Wednesday at the European Parliament in Brussels, is fronted by Conservative Member of Parliament Damian Collins.

Responding to news that so many sponsors had abandoned FIFA, he said on Thursday night: “FIFA is a toxic brand. I think that’s why companies who care about their reputation don’t want to be associated with (it).”

Confirming its departure, Castrol wrote in an email exchange with The Daily Telegraph: “We have not been sponsors of FIFA since, I believe, the World Cup last year.”

It did not elaborate on its reasons for the non-renewal.

A spokesman for Johnson & Johnson said of its own exit: “It was a decision that was made for business reasons after a comprehensive review.”

Continental added that it had re-evaluated its sponsorship goals following its third successive World Cup, with a spokesman adding: “It was a great platform for us and now we’re using football on a regionalised level.”

FIFA’s recent travails have failed to deter a number of its backers from renewing their contracts. It secured energy giant Gazprom in 2013 as an official partner for the next World Cup in Russia. A similarly parochial imperative is expected to lead to Qatar Airways replacing Emirates for that tournament and the next in its home country in 2022.

In addition to writing to Castrol to enlist its support, New FIFA Now also contacted FIFA partners Coca-Cola, adidas, Visa and World Cup sponsor McDonald’s. None responded to requests for comment from Telegraph Sport on the movement’s claims that they, too, had failed to respond to its letter.

New FIFA Now plans to step up its campaign, with sportswear manufacturer Skins, whose chairman is one of the movement’s founders, scheduled to announce itself as FIFA’s first “official non-sponsor”. It will stage a mock sponsorship activation on the website http://www.officialnonsponsor.com and has taken out a full-page advert in Blatter’s local Swiss newspaper tomorrow.

Skins chairman Jaimie Fuller said: “We’re subverting traditional sponsorship activities to make a very clear statement: ‘Sepp, we just want football back’.” The launch of New FIFA Now has been timed to coincide with FIFA’s presidential election campaign, which will kick off after next Thursday’s deadline for nominations.

Blatter is facing potential challenges from several quarters, although only FIFA vice-president Prince Ali Hussein of Jordan appears in a position to obtain the endorsement of five national associations, which is required for candidates to be eligible to stand.

Former FIFA executive Jerome Champagne has resorted to pleading for the nominations he needs; Harold Mayne-Nicholls, former head of its technical committee, remains undecided; and David Ginola is trying to recover from a disastrous campaign launch a week ago at which the revelation he was paid £250,000 by a well-known bookmaker to run undermined his bid’s credibility.

The former Newcastle and Tottenham star has secured a meeting with UEFA president Michel Platini, his former national team manager with France, who had been expected to endorse Prince Ali as his preferred FIFA presidency candidate. THE DAILY TELEGRAPH

 

FIVE COMPANIES TO HAVE ENDED FIFA PARTNERSHIP:

 

SONY: Signed a £160 million contract in 2005 as one of FIFA’s first ‘partners’ after it revamped its sponsorship portfolio.

JOHNSON & JOHNSON: Signed in 2011 for one World Cup. Decided against renewing deal for Russia 2018 or beyond.

CASTROL: Joined the FIFA family in 2008 in a deal described as the biggest in its 100-year history.

CONTINENTAL: Commercial backer of FIFA since 2003, the tyre company took up option of becoming World Cup sponsor ahead of 2010 event.

EMIRATES: Became sponsor at 2006 World Cup. Decided not to continue beyond 2014, as terms “did not meet expectations”.

 

FIFA’S REPLY:

“It is natural that as brands’ strategies evolve they reassess their sponsorship properties. The contracts were always planned to run until the end of 2014. As in previous FIFA World Cup cycles, we are now in advanced negotiations with a number of companies related to sponsorship agreements in all three of our categories.” — FIFA marketing director Thierry Weil. REUTERS

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