Advertisers threaten to revoke FIFA sponsorships after indictments

(Image credit: Brian Bahr/Getty Images)

last updated 28 May 2015

After Wednesday's news that the U.S. has indicted nine FIFA officials and five sports marketers on 47 charges including bribery, money laundering, corruption, and racketeering, some of the organization's largest corporate sponsors — including Visa, Adidas, and Coca-Cola — are threatening to revoke their sponsorships if FIFA doesn't implement reforms.

"Our sponsorship has always focused on supporting the teams, enabling a great fan experience, and inspiring communities to come together and celebrate the spirit of competition and personal achievement — and it is important that FIFA makes changes now, so that the focus remains on these going forward," Visa said in a statement. Coca-Cola, meanwhile, said the World Cup's reputation is "tarnished" by the FIFA scandal and encouraged the organization to make changes.

Nike, another huge FIFA sponsor, has so far stayed mum, and some suspect that the "multinational sportswear company headquartered in the United States" mentioned in the indictment in relation to 1996 bribery allegations involving a sponsorship deal with Brazil is a reference to the athleticwear giant. For its part, Nike said it was concerned about the "very serious allegations" — though the company did not directly admit it was the multinational sportswear company in question.