FIFA must count cost next year

FIFA’s decision to award Russia the 2018 World Cup is hitting them where it hurts the most – in the pocket.

The tournament kicks off in under six months in Moscow, but problems off the pitch are in danger of making the tournament a financial nightmare.

High-profile names like Castrol and Johnson & Johnson have already pulled out of sponsoring an event tainted by controversy since FIFA’s award of the 2018 and 2022 tournaments eight years ago.

That scandal, coupled with claims of statesponsored doping in Russia, have created a toxic mix that is sending potential sponsors running.

Just over a third of FIFA’s 32 sponsorship slots have been filled to date. In previous years the vast majority would have been taken up at least 18 months before the first match.

The situation is embarrassing for FIFA – a body striving to restore its reputation following the scandals that symbolised the reign of Sepp Blatter.

“The corruption scandal at FIFA and the bad headlines mean those big sponsors have dropped out and they can’t seem to replace them with companies of a comparable size,” says Rob Wilson, football finance expert at Sheffield Hallam University. “FIFA will have been holding out for more money from big conglomerates but what they’ve ended up with is an increasing number of local Russian companies taking up the slots.

“These slots essentially generate around $4bn (for FIFA) but they’re not currently anywhere near that mark.

“There’s a real reluctance from some of the biggest companies to be associated with either Russia or FIFA because both have huge issues with reputation at the current time.”

The real worry for FIFA beyond 2018 is that sponsors are also hard to find for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.

TAINTED BY SCANDAL: Ex-FIFA chief Sepp Blatter