28 May 2015

Fifa arrests: what the sponsors say

World Cup sponsors express concerns after the US accuses senior officials of football’s governing body of fraud and money laundering.

US prosecutors issued an indictment on Wednesday accusing nine officials from soccer’s world governing body and five sports media and promotions executives of bribes involving more than $150m over 24 years.

The hard-hitting allegations were made by US authorities, raising massive questions over the organisation’s presidential election on Friday and the 2018 and 2022 World Cups in Russia and Qatar. A separate Swiss investigation has been launched into possible criminal mismanagement of the allocations of these events.

The Fifa officials, including vice-president Jeffrey Webb, former vice-president Jack Warner and seven others, have been charged with racketeering, wire fraud and money laundering conspiracies.

The arrests have put pressure on Fifa’s key sponsors to distance themselves from the organisation. World Cup top-tier sponsors pay between $24m and $44m a year, while second-tier sponsors pay an estimated $10m to $25m a year.

Visa

Visa – one of Fifa’s key sponsors – has threatened to end its partnership with Fifa over the latest Fifa crisis. The company said its “disappointment and concern” was profound and called for “swift and immediate” action in the wake of a wave of arrests of football officials.

“As a sponsor, we expect Fifa to take swift and immediate steps to address these issues within its organisation. This starts with rebuilding a culture with strong ethical practices in order to restore the reputation of the games for fans everywhere.

“It is important that Fifa makes changes now, so that the focus remain on these going forward. Should Fifa fail to do so, we have informed them that we will reassess our sponsorship.”

Coca-Cola

Long-time sponsor Coca-Cola said the “serious allegations” had “tarnished” the World Cup. A statement read: “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.

“We expect Fifa to continue to address these issues thoroughly. Fifa has stated that it is responding to all requests for information and we are confident it will continue to cooperate fully with the authorities.”

Adidas

On Wednesday Adidas said it was “fully committed to creating a culture that promotes the highest standards of ethics and compliance” and expects the same from its partners.

The company added that it encouraged Fifa “to continue to establish and follow transparent compliance standards in everything they do”.

Hyundai

South Korean car manufacturer Hyundai, a top-tier World Cup sponsor, said it was “extremely concerned” by the allegations.

“As a company that places the highest priority on ethical standards and transparency, Hyundai Motor is extremely concerned about the legal proceedings being taken against certain Fifa executives and will continue to monitor the situation closely,” it said in a statement.

McDonald’s

A spokesman for McDonald’s, a second-tier sponsor, said: “McDonald’s takes matters of ethics and corruption very seriously and the news from the US Department of Justice is extremely concerning. We are in contact with Fifa on this matter. We will continue to monitor the situation very closely.”

Budweiser

A spokesman for Budweiser, also a second-tier sponsor, said: “We expect all of our partners to maintain strong ethical standards and operate with transparency.”