FIFA’s top-tier sponsors should withdraw their support immediately from the world football governing body which is “mired in corruption allegations” as it harming their brands, according to one of the public faces of the Sunday Times investigatory team that has led the expose on FIFA. Heidi Blake, one half of the Sunday Time’s investigatory duo who has published a series of allegations against FIFA and its current and former executives, said the likes of Visa and Coca-Cola can play a crucial role in reforming FIFA. Blake said, “The only real power that anyone holds is financial power over FIFA and the sponsors wield that power. We have been hopeful that the sponsors will at some point realize that being associated with an organization that is absolutely mired in corruption allegations and failing so miserably to deal will them in a transparent and proper way, that they will realize that this is hurting them and it is hurting their brands and will therefore withdraw their support for FIFA.”
THE MONEY TRAIL: FIFA raises in excess of £1B from its six top-tier partners -- Coca-Cola, Emirates, Visa, Adidas, Kia-Hyundai and Sony -- who are estimated to pay between £100M and £300M for a World Cup cycle. Sony and Emirates have withdrawn support for FIFA within the past few months, but did not disclose whether this was connected to the corruption allegations. Other sponsors have issued statements of concern over the allegations but not withdrawn sponsorship. Blake: “At the moment, it [reaction from sponsors] has not been enough to make FIFA to sit up and take notice. We hope to see more pressure from sponsors.”
THE BOOK TOUR: Blake and co-head of the investigatory unit, Jonathan Calvert, are bringing out a book next year on their pursuit of FIFA, which she says will include new revelations. As the FIFA story keeps unfolding, Blake says it is impossible to predict the outcome, citing that she was surprised when independent investigator Michael Garcia publicly disowned his own report, as an example of how unpredictable the fallout has become. She added, "I very much hope that the outcome will be that Sepp Blatter will not successfully stand for another term of office, and that we get new leadership in FIFA. And that somebody has the sense to see that bidding for the 2018 and 2022 World Cups needs to be rerun."
John Reynolds is a writer in London.
