World Cup sponsorship revenue falls for first time

The value of sponsorship for the upcoming Russia World Cup is way down on four years ago, with many big brands pulling out following the Fifa corruption scandal.

According to Nielsen Sports' research, Fifa sponsor revenue fell from $1,629m (£1,214m) at the 2014 Brazil World Cup to a forecast $1,450m (£1,085m) today.

The Global market research firm says the 2015-18 sponsorship cycle had been “a tougher sell” than for the previous two World Cups, with a number of long-term Fifa backers, including Johnson & Johnson, Castrol and Continental, ending their association with the tournament.

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Many experts point to apprehension about being associated with Fifa, an organisation that until recently was a by-word for corruption, and a tournament that looks set to be the most controversial and political in decades.

It represents a worrying setback for football’s world governing body, which has seen the value of World Cup sponsorship double over the past two decades.

Last year, The New York Times warned Fifa was facing a World Cup revenue shortfall. “The sport is more popular than ever” said Tariq Penja, “what is different this time is Fifa’s reputation”.

As recently as six months ago, the tournament’s roster of sponsors remained noticeably undersubscribed — “a reflection of how much the reputational damage from a much-publicised 2015 corruption crisis continues to hurt Fifa’s bottom line”, says Penja.

However, there is a silver lining, with Nielsen revealing that “a new crop of sponsors, including several from China, helped Fifa weather the storm”.

China's largest commercial property company, the Wanda Group, is one of Fifa's seven official partners, alongside Coca Cola, Adidas, Gazprom, Qatar Airways, Visa and Hyundai/Kia, while three of tournament’s five official sponsors are also Chinese. Asian sponsors now account for over a third of all 2018 World Cup revenue.

The BBC says “football has boomed in China” in recent years, with strong encouragement from the government.

President Xi Jinping is said to be a huge football fan, with Beijing keen to host the World Cup as soon as possible.