Indian IT Company On Board As Newest FIFA World Cup Sponsor

FIFA's Sepp Blatter (l) And Satyam's B. Ramalinga Raju Announcing World Cup Deal

India-based Satyam Computer Services has signed on as a FIFA World Cup sponsor and official IT services provider to the event. The deal covers the 2010 and 2014 World Cups in South Africa and Brazil, respectively. Satyam joins McDonald’s, Anheuser-Busch and South Africa-based mobile telecommunications company MTN Group in the planned six-member group of FIFA World Cup Sponsors, the second tier of FIFA's marketing partnerships. Visa, adidas, Coca-Cola, Emirates Airline, Hyundai and Sony are top tier FIFA partners (THE DAILY). Satyam, which provides IT to 170 Fortune 500 companies, has provided FIFA with event-management IT support services for "some time" (ECONOMIC TIMES, 11/25). A Satyam exec said the company also has "the first right of refusal for the two subsequent World Cups in 2018 and 2022." SIFY.com's Chitti Pantulu reported Satyam is "recruiting former sportspersons to familiarise techies with various sports and also to provide consultancy on the use of IT in sports." The company "is close to signing up a well-known former French player," yet to be named, and Satyam Senior VP & Head of European Operations Keshab Panda said that the company "has already made business presentations to a host of premier league football clubs in Europe on IT implementations and use of technology in developing clubs and grooming players" (SIFY.com, 11/27).