FIFA Commercial Dir Philippe Le Floc'h insisted the 2018 World Cup "will make its income target" despite major nations like the U.S. and Italy failing to qualify, according to Graham Dunbar of the AP. The U.S. elimination "affects finding four North American sponsors in a new, and stalled, regional sales program." Le Floc'h said of targeting deals with American tech firms, "Everybody is annoyed with the non-qualification of the U.S., which was not expected." Still, he "insists FIFA will reach" a $5.66B income target for the '15-18 sales period "even with gaps in the lineup of 34 potential sponsors." The backdrop to 2018 World Cup sales -- typically in two-tournament deals with the '22 edition -- has "included uncertainty over FIFA's exposure to prosecution, falling oil prices, sanctions imposed on Russian businessmen, and issues with the next host in line, Qatar." Sponsors sales "were projected to drop" by $100M "even before the U.S. team's early exit" (AP, 11/30).
CENTER OF ATTENTION: ESPN.com's Nick Ames reported almost seven years to the day since it won the World Cup hosting rights, Friday's 2018 World Cup draw will make Russia the "centre of attention for football supporters across the globe to an extent not yet seen." One "surprise" ahead of the ceremony was the announcement that Gary Lineker will co-host the event. He has been "publicly critical of a crisis-hit FIFA via his Twitter account in the past." The draw show, which will be an hour long and hosted by local TV celebrity Ivan Urgant, "aims to project Russia as a modern society and celebrate its beauty." Lineker and Russian football journalist Maria Komandnaya will be joined by eight draw assistants. The draw process itself is "expected to take around half an hour." Among those watching in the 6,000-capacity hall will be 30 of the 32 qualified teams' coaches, with around 1,000 media also accredited (ESPN.com, 11/30).
NO 'GROUP OF DEATH': REUTERS' Gabrielle Tétrault-Farber reported in a new "simplified format," the teams will be placed in pots one to four from highest to lowest FIFA ranking with the exception of Russia, the lowest-ranked team in the tournament, which is "automatically placed in pot one alongside the top seeds." Each pot will be "emptied one by one into eight groups -- Group A to Group H -- which will contain four teams each." The Kremlin said that Russian President Vladimir Putin could attend the draw (REUTERS, 11/30).
TRAVEL NUMBERS: Visa predicted close to 5 million people will travel to Russia next summer. This includes an additional 300,000-500,000 int'l visitors during June and July thanks to the World Cup, on top of a baseline average of 4.3 million total int'l visitors to Russia during the same time period over the past four years. This uptick in travelers next June-July represents a 6-10% increase in foreign visitors to the country. Of those non-native travelers projected to go to Russia, 8% are coming from the Americas -- most of which are coming from the U.S. and Brazil. Visa anticipates Russia will see an increase in per traveler spending. If the 2014 World Cup is any indication, Russian eateries, transportation and lodging companies can expect to see an increase in sales, as visitors to Brazil in '14 spent 31% more per card than regular tourists in these areas (Visa).
INVITING A LEGEND: Hisense, an official sponsor of the 2018 World Cup, announced it will invite footballing legend Ruud Gullit to take over its Twitter and Facebook accounts during the draw. Hisense will manage a live interaction between Gullit and fans (Hisense).
KNOW YOUR LIMIT: In London, Martha Kelner reported England fans at the World Cup finals in Russia next summer have been told to "restrict their alcohol intake to one pint of beer before or after the game in order to ensure their safety." A tourism exec said that he believed there would be "no repeat of the violent clashes that marred Euro 2016, providing England fans do not get too drunk." Igor Karzov of Visit Russia said, "I can't guarantee safety if fans are really drunk and offensive. ... It's OK to have a pint before or after the game" (GUARDIAN, 11/29).
