Emirates airline has become the first of FIFA’s major sponsors "to end its relationship" with the governing body "since corruption allegations engulfed the organisation in the summer," according to Owen Gibson of the London GUARDIAN. The airline said that "it would end its sponsorship at the end of 2014." Another of FIFA’s six partners, Sony, "is also understood to be reviewing its position as the four year World Cup cycle draws to a close at the end of 2014." Those campaigning for FIFA reform amid endless allegations of cronyism and corruption "have long hoped pressure from sponsors would lead to change." It "is understood replacements for Emirates and Sony have been lined up in the shape of Qatar Air, the national carrier of the country that will host the 2022 World Cup, and Samsung" (GUARDIAN, 11/3). REUTERS' Nadia Saleem reported Emirates, which has extensive sponsorship deals in sports, "did not say how much the contract was worth or where it would redeploy the spending." German news magazine Der Spiegel said on Sunday that "FIFA's poor image was one of the main reasons behind Emirates' decision to end the partnership" (REUTERS, 11/3). The IRISH EXAMINER reported FIFA said in a statement, “Emirates had already informed FIFA back in June 2012 about the restructuring of its sponsorship concept and FIFA respects this. Due to the ongoing negotiations, we cannot give any further information about future partners in this category at this stage. The current contract with Sony still runs until 31 December 2014 and we are currently in on-going discussions with Sony" (IRISH EXAMINER, 11/3).
