While the Olympics "may be the ultimate sporting event for millions of athletes around the world," corporate sponsors believe that it "pales in comparison to the continuing dominance" of football, according to Simon Zekaria of the WALL STREET JOURNAL. Adidas was the sole sportswear partner of the London Games in a deal worth £100M ($162.2M) but admits the financial returns from its commercial association with the Olympics "aren't nearly as high" as from football. Adidas puts money into the sport's two biggest int'l tournaments, the FIFA World Cup and UEFA European Championship. McDonald's, Canon and Continental joined adidas in paying big money to sponsor Euro 2012, which "broadcast their logos to billions of viewers across the globe as well as stadium fans." The IOC generated an average of $85-90M of revenue per corporate partner in the '09-12 cycle, before "additional sponsorship money raised by London organizers to stage the event," according to data from Deloitte's Sports Business Group. That compares with $351M for a single deal signed between FIFA and adidas in '05 to cover the period to the 2014 World Cup in Brazil. In addition to the top-tier sponsorship, "each World Cup attracts further funding," including from eight global sponsors. Deloitte's projected marketing revenue for FIFA between '10-14 to more than $1.2B. Alongside club football sponsorship, "revenues could grow further" (WSJ, 9/16).
