The International Football Federation (FIFA) is struggling to find sponsors for the 2018 World Cup in Russia, writes the Financial Times (FT). International and local companies are evading contracts due to large sums and reputational risks, writes FT, companies are worried about both FIFA itself after the corruption scandal in 2015, which led to the resignation of Federation President Joseph Blatter, and Russia, which has become “an outcast for many in the West ”after the annexation of Crimea. The FIFA representative did not respond to Vedomosti’s request.
Now FIFA has 10 signed contracts: six global partners – Adidas, Coca-Cola, Wanda, Gazprom, Hyundai, Visa, three global partners at the 2018 World Cup – Hisense, Budweiser and McDonald’s and one regional sponsor – Alfa-Bank, indicated on her website. There were 20 of them at the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, but at the end of the World Cup, Sony and Emirates ran out of sponsorship contracts and did not renew them.
Regional sponsors appeared during the preparation of the 2018 tournament, previously there were national partners. FIFA expects to find up to 20 sponsors – four in each region (Europe, North America, South America, Asia, Africa and the Middle East), the website says.
Sold a third
211,000 tickets for the Confederations Cup have been sold now, said Vitaly Mutko, Deputy Prime Minister for Sports and Tourism. In total, it is planned to sell more than 600,000 tickets
On April 6, Chinese electronics and home appliance maker Hisense announced that it has become a sponsor of the competition, its website says. FT estimates the deal at about $ 100 million and notes that the contract is for a shorter period than other FIFA deals.
Sponsorship of Alfa-Bank is an image story, it will not bring much income, the bank could spend up to $ 50 million, says Alexey Andreev, managing partner of Depot WPF. Alfa-Bank will receive a large flow of customers (all acquiring passes through it), as well as advertising, said the president and co-owner of the bank, Petr Aven.
Regional sponsors will be able to enjoy the privileges available to global partners, such as advertising on LED boards during tournaments, receiving match tickets and associating their brand with the tournament in their region, according to the FIFA website.
Bud, as the only beer sponsor, has exclusive rights to sell products at the stadiums where tournament matches will be held, said Konstantin Tamirov, Marketing Director of SUN Inbev. According to him, during the matches, the Bud brand will be shown on the digital boards of the fields, and the company will have a priority right to buy out ad units during broadcasts. The benefits of sponsorship and advertising campaigns for such events are long-term in nature: they increase the value of the brand, the geographical presence, strengthening the emotional connection with the consumer, notes Tamirov, the contract will last until the World Cup 2022 in Qatar inclusive.
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