Sponsor escape costs money

Af Lars Andersson

FIFA posted a loss of 122 million US dollars in 2015 – its first deficit since 2002.
The figures were generated following a turbulent year, in which a corruption scandal erupted that led to president Sepp Blatter stepping down, more than 40 individuals in FIFA being implicated and sponsors saying goodbye. However FIFA is confident they can weather the storm:
“With the recently approved reforms, I believe that we have turned a corner and that FIFA is poise to emerge stronger than ever. During my presidency, I pledge to make this happen and to lead FIFA into a brighter and more sustainable future so that we can all return our full focus to football,” president Gianni Infantino says.

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And maybe FIFA has turned a corner. Friday the Chinese conglomerate the Wanda Group agreed a deal to become a top-tier partner of FIFA, the first major sponsorship agreement reached by world football’s governing body since Infantino replaces Sepp Blatter as president. Wanda Group joins Adidas, Coca-Cola, Gazprom, Hyundai-Kia and Visa as FIFA partners. The deal with Wanda Group comes after a year, where revenue from World Cup sponsors dropped from 131 million dollars to 44.5 million dollars, but turnover from FIFA’s top-tier partners edged up from 177.1 to 180.0 million dollars. At the same time FIFA’s legal costs nearly doubled from 31.29 million dollars to 61.49 million dollars, while the reserves slumped from 1.52 billion dollars to 1.34 billion dollars.
FIFA’s former president, Sepp Blatter, was paid 3.8 million dollars in 2015, and former secretary general Jerome Valcke took 2.2 million dollars.
FIFA employed an average of 582 people in 2015, spending 92.1 million dollars on personnel.

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