Consumer electronics group Hisense has become the latest Chinese sponsor of the World Cup, "providing some respite" for FIFA as it "struggles to secure new commercial partners in the wake of a corruption scandal," according to Ahmed, Fei Ju & Seddon of the FINANCIAL TIMES. On Thursday, Hisense announced it had become a “top tier” sponsor for FIFA’s 2017 Confederations Cup and the 2018 World Cup. The 15-month deal is, however, "far shorter" than previous deals that FIFA has sought. At a press conference in Beijing, Hisense and FIFA execs said that the deal’s value was "near $100M," but added that the "specific figure was confidential." Hisense is the "second major Chinese sponsor to sign up to the next World Cup." Last year, Wanda signed a sponsorship deal for the next four competitions (FT, 4/6). BLOOMBERG reported FIFA had "just nine companies on its roster" for the tournament, excluding Hisense. That is "compared with 20 by the time the Brazil World Cup kicked off." Hisense President Liu Hongxin said, "Sponsoring the World Cup is a good way for Hisense to quickly build brand awareness internationally." Chinese companies from Wanda to Huawei Technologies have "grown increasingly aggressive in sponsoring major sporting contests in recent years as they seek to grow their businesses abroad." Liu said that Hisense's FIFA sponsorship "marks the beginning of a longer-term cooperation with the governing body" (BLOOMBERG, 4/6). The AP reported the "shortfall of sponsors" contributed to a $122M loss in '15, the last annual accounts published by FIFA (AP, 4/6).
